Remember The Past
by Heart
Summary: What is Lantis doing in Hikaru's school? Why doesn't she recognize him? Why doesn't she remember Sefiro at all? And why doesn't Lantis remember the reason why he's there in the first place? (H/L pairing) *CHAPTER 14 UP---FINAL CHAPPIE!*
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I don't own MKR, CLAMP does. Am just one crazy fan. And all of these stuff I had written or will write is a product of my imagination and my imagination only....Yada...yada...Don't sue me.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Another Rayearth fanfic from me. This time it's pure H/L stuff.

PROLOGUE

            A tall, dark-haired man in his early twenties walked hurriedly along the palace corridor. He was wearing a long cape, armor and a pair of boots, all black in color, with his long trusty sword sheathed in a black scabbard hanging down his waist. Anybody could tell that this man is a knight---and not just an ordinary knight, but also the one and only magic swordsman of Sefiro. 

            His pace became much quicker as he neared his destination. He had felt something happened earlier while he was training…something that was not quite right…His violet eyes narrowed as he remembered the eerie feeling. 

            He burst inside the main hall, not caring if he scared anybody. "Guru Clef, tell me, do you know what happened?"

            "Someone erased her memory of Sefiro. I think it is the same with the others also," the lavender-haired mage in front of him answered.

            "You mean…?"

            "I mean, any memory she has of this world has been erased. With the other magic knights having the same situation, I don't think she will be able to recover her memories. She won't be able to come back here if that happens."

            "Is there anything we can do? Hikaru is still Sefiro's Pillar. If someone did cast a spell of forgetfulness on her, that person must be up to no good."  

            "I agree." There was silence between the two for a while. "There is one way…"

            "And that is…?"

            "I can get you to Earth, make you live there, so u can slowly help her recover her memories…Since the bond between the two of you is strong, I think your presence will break the spell. Of course, I have to arrange some things for your…err…stay there."

            "What things?"

            "Well, like I have to make up your past, arrange your means of living, get you to study on the same school as she is, which means, I have to alter your age also, get you aware of the ways of living in Earth…"

            "I get your point…"

            "Of course, the spell may have some minor flaws…Considering the Pillar's situation, the will of the people of Sefiro may not be enough to cast a spell that great at the same time, support Sefiro's existence…"

            "I'll take the risk…"

            "Remember, I can only do this once. If you fail, there won't be any second chance."


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

            Kyle Lantis McKnight had been wakened from a very weird dream; he preferred to leave his eyes closed though in hope to catch some more sleep. "Master Kyle…" he felt someone softly shook his arm. "Master Kyle…we'll be arriving in a few minutes…" Slowly he opened his eyes and found himself sitting next to an old man. He looked around him and it was then when he remembered that he was on board a plane. 

            "I apologize for disturbing your sleep, Master Kyle," the old man said. 

            "It's alright Jean…" he replied to his butler. "Has everything been arranged Jean?"

            "Yes Master Kyle, the new chauffer would be picking us up when we get to Japan. Your lawyer had everything ready as you had told him to---The servants…err…help had been hired, your school had been informed, your new mansion had been bought, and is fully furnished."

            "Good…" Kyle said with a yawn.

            Jean looked at his young master with affection and pity. 'No matter how much he acts as if he's an adult, with adult responsibilities on his hands, he's still a 17 year old boy. Maybe the richest 17-year-old boy in the whole world…but he still looks sad…very lonely…and very detached. He had been like that since his parents died.'

            "Is there something else you want to tell me Jean?" the young master asked when he noticed the old man looking at him.

            "No…nothing at all Master Kyle…"

            "Oh…one more thing Jean…did the package reach Japan safely?"

            "The package…? Oh yes! The package! Yes Master Kyle. It had been transported with some museum pieces from England that was to be displayed in Japan. Of course it would be delivered at the mansion instead. It was done as you have instructed."

            "Good…" They were both referring to a sword. A very valuable one…And even though it had lasted from generations to generations, it still looked brand new. 

            It wasn't long until the stewardess had announced their arrival in Japan. 'Finally…Japan…'

*          *            *

            Hikaru whistled happily as she walked on her way to school. She spotted a kitten in the middle of the road, which she approached. "Hey, you shouldn't be here…you might got run over…" she murmured. It was after she picked it up when she heard a loud beep and saw a truck coming towards her in full speed. Her eyes widened as if in shock and her body refused to move no matter how many times she commands it to. Still cuddling the kitten in her arms, she closed her eyes and waited for the impact. 

            But the impact didn't come. Instead, she felt herself being lifted up and carried to safety. It was only then when she finally opened her eyes. Piercing violet orbs met her own, and she found herself blushing at the sight of the good-looking young man carrying her. "Are you alright?" the youth asked her. She found herself too mesmerized with the deep, handsome voice that she didn't realize that the man was actually talking to her in English.

            The man might have misinterpreted her silence to unfamiliarity to his language, so he decided to speak in Japanese. "Daijoubu ka?" 

            By then, all Hikaru could do was nod. She had to mentally kick herself before she was finally able to answer properly. "H-hai…daijoubu." The young man then gently put her down and stared at the kitten she was still cuddling. "A-anou…I was going to…the kitten…is…uhm…don't want the kitten to get run over…hmm…I…" she suddenly heard herself babble some kind of explanation…which turned out to be hopelessly confusing.

            "Be careful next time," he simply told her. 

            She nodded and put the kitten back on the ground. She was about to thank her savior when she realized it was too late. He's already gone.

*          *            *

            Hikaru arrived to room 3-1 just in time and was greeted by her friends, Chiharu and Keiko. She ended up telling them about her little adventure that morning. 

            "Hehhhh??? Really???" Chiharu exclaimed.

            "Really…" 

            "You say the boy was wearing our school uniform and the same age as ours?"

            "Yes, but I don't know him…"

            "Well…that's something new, you know almost everybody in our high school," Keiko said. It was true, Hikaru knows almost everybody in their school, especially her co-seniors. She's the most friendly 3rd year high school student in the academy after all.

            "Maybe he's a transfer student or something…He sounds foreign…but speaks Japanese quite well…"

            "Sugooii…"

            Their conversation was interrupted when their teacher, Kobayashi-sensei, entered the room. "Before anything else, I would like to inform you that we have a new student from England to be joining our class…You can enter now…" he said, referring to a person standing outside the open door. 

            Hikaru's eyes widened when she saw the young dark-haired man walk in front of the class. "I am Kyle McKnight. I'm eighteen years old. Pleased to meet you all," he said, ending his self-introduction with the usual Japanese bow. 

            "You can sit behind Shidou-san…Shidou-san, will you please raise your hand so that Mr. McKnight can see where he's supposed to go."

            Hikaru then weakly raised her hand. Again, their eyes met…She felt it was her chance to actually thank him and so she mouthed an 'Arigatou' on his way. He in turn faintly nodded at her.

*          *            *

            Kyle decided to have his lunch sitting underneath one of the cherry-blossom trees near their building. He hadn't made friends at school just yet…not that he planned to. He didn't had any close friends in his old school in England either…his old classmates were just either too cocky or just simply gay. Not that he's a homophobic or something, he just couldn't take the looks they'd been sending his way. What else would you expect from an exclusive boarding school for boys?

            He spotted something packed in his lunchbox that made him frown. 'Dessert,' he thought and rolled his eyes. He had always hated sweet stuff…and Jean knows that. 'Probably that's the reason why it's here…' Jean always does tease him about his abhorrence on sweets.  'That old man must be grinning like a fool right now…'

            "Hello…" He quickly left his own thoughts and looked at the person in front of him. "Did I disturb you?" It was the girl he saved earlier that day. 

            "No."

            "Anou…I saw you eating here all by yourself and I figured that you might need some company…I mean, my friends are over there and you're welcome to join us…" she said, pointing at the group of boys and girls sitting underneath another tree a few meters away. 

            "You're Shidou-san right?"

            "Hai. Please do call me Hikaru, everybody does…err…Makunaito-san?"

            "It's Kyle…"

            "Kai-ru?"

            "Kyle…Lantis…"he said, surprised at himself at mentioning his second name to a stranger. He had never included his second name when introducing to someone…He never let anybody call him 'Lantis' since his parents died. 

            "Kailu Lantis." He smiled briefly at the girl's best attempt in pronouncing his English name… "So Lantis-kun, would you like to join us?" 

            "No…I…"

            For a moment there, he thought he saw Hikaru frown, but it was too brief, that again, a huge friendly smile appeared on her face. "Ah! Forgive me, I should have known you do not like to be with many people."

            "It is nothing…If you want, you can join me…" Again, Kyle was surprised by his own words. He had never invited anybody to accompany him…especially a girl. "…That is, if your friends do not mind…"

            "Sure. It is not really a problem with them. They know that you are just new here and well, it's kind of like my job to make the transferees comfortable in the school…Wait here Lantis-kun, I'll just get my lunch-pack." With that, Hikaru left him alone, very much astonished ---She just called him 'Lantis-kun', but that was not the reason he was shocked…it was because she called him that, and he didn't seem to mind.

~*.^.*~

AUTHOR'S NOTES: First chappie…yey! I hope that people would read this thing…hmm…Reviews, reviews onegai!!! Hmm…enuff for now…gotta go and do some other stuff…


	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

            _He saw himself as a young boy of ten, standing in a large room. He was mesmerized at the sword laid in an open rectangular golden container on the table. The sword was huge, with a large jewel placed in between the sharp blade and the black hilt. He turned around when he felt a hand on his shoulder. _

_            "Beautiful isn't it Lantis?" He saw his father smiling affectionately at him. He nodded and looked back at the sword in front of him. "Go ahead…You can touch it…Just be careful though…" Slowly his hand reached out for the handle. He gave it a good grip and lifted it up. He found it surprisingly light. "Careful…Yes, that's it." _

_            He noticed his father's voice had changed. When he turned to look at his father again, he saw a man with lavender hair instead, wearing unusual robes and holding a large staff. By then, he realized that he wasn't a young boy of ten anymore, but a seventeen-year-old youth, as he was supposed to be._

_            "Oh it's you again." _

_            "I see you had followed my instructions and went to Japan."_

_            "I figured you wouldn't leave my dreams alone if I did not…"_

_            "I will continue to disturb your dreams until you do your duty, Lantis."_

_            "I told you don't call me Lantis! Nobody calls me that except my parents and they're dead! My name is Kyle!"_

_            "Your name is Lantis…not Kyle!"_

_            "Shut up you! Leave me alone!" Lantis closed his eyes and started swinging his sword dangerously._

_---(@)---_

"Master Lantis! Master Lantis!" he sat up on his bed all of a sudden, now fully awake. He found Jean sitting beside him with a worried look on his face. "Are you all right Master Lantis?"

            "I told you don't call me that!" he snapped at the butler.

            "I…Forgive me Master…I didn't realize…I must had been too worried…I thought you weren't going to wake up."

            Kyle's hard expression softened. "I am sorry too, Jean. I just had a nightmare again. It was very upsetting…And well, you do know how upset I get when someone calls me with that name…I remember too much hurtful memories…"

            "Yes I do understand…By the way, the sword has arrived. I personally brought it to the study. I know you wouldn't want anybody else handle such a valuable item."

            "Thank you Jean."

            "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. You should hurry up so that you will not be late for school…"

            "Yes…I should…" The old man turned to leave the room. "Oh and Jean?"

            "Yes, Master Kyle?"

            "I am really sorry…"

            "Do not worry, I do understand…"

            "Thank you."

*          *          *

            Contrary to what he had expected, he found himself enjoying his Japanese school life. Well, not just the school life, but actually the whole way of living in the foreign country. And that, is just one of the things he found surprising.

            "Lantis-kun!" He planned to shoot a glare at the short redhead in front of him, who seemed to have just popped out of nowhere. He found himself greeting her back with a nod instead---talk about surprises.

            "I'd rather you call me Kyle."

            "Why?"

            "Because…"

            "Well?"

            "I don't really use that name…"

            "Mou, I've gotten used to calling you Lantis already…It suits you better too…" she said as-a-matter-of-factly. She gave him an innocent, childlike smile that made him decide not to argue. 

            "Suit yourself," he said with a sigh. He noticed how the girl's smile became wider. 'She sure does looked very pleased with herself…'

            "Thanks a lot Lantis-kun…"

            "But…"

            "Hmm?"

            "I'd still prefer to be called 'Kyle'…"

            "Don't worry, I'll tell the others that…Wait…they don't know your second name…Anyway, why am I here again? Oh yes, I came to warn you…"

            "Warn me?"

            "Yes…warn you…'Cause you're my friend…"

            "Friend?"

            "We're friends now right?" She looked at him with round puppy eyes…

            "Err…of course, err, Hikaru-chan…"

            "Great! As I was saying I came to warn you…Some group of girls had already formed a 'Kyle McKnight Fan Club.'"

            "A WHAT?"

            "A fan club…for you…So…If I were you I'd better get ready for girls chasing you around the school."

            "Are you…?"

            "A member? No way! Haha! No offense! I mean, I do think that was kind of silly…Don't you think so too?"

            "Why?"

            "Did they form one?" He nodded. "Well, see, they find you very attractive…Don't worry you'll get used to it…Believe me I know…See ya around!"

*          *          *

            One thing he learned that day is: never ignore Hikaru-chan's warning. He had his taste of these obsessed fan's antics earlier that day during lunch break when he decided to eat in the school canteen. At first, they looked harmless…until they started messing up his hair…pinching his cheeks…and fighting with each other, of who's going to get his autograph first. He suddenly found himself in a middle of a huge catfight…He just felt someone pull him out of the way and outside the canteen. It was good that the girls were too busy fighting with each other to notice that he was already gone.

            "Wow…I didn't realize they'd get that wild!" Hikaru said, still holding his hand. Both of them blushed when they realized this. She quickly let go of him. "Uh-oh…Are you a fast runner?" He looked at her quizzically and then nodded. "Okay…run!" He didn't know why, but he did as she told him, following her lead. "Sorry to bring you into this but I cannot leave you alone…"

            "Why are we running?"

            "Look behind you…" It was then that he saw a group of boys running after them with flowers and gifts on their hands… "See what I mean now?"

            "You have a fan club too?"

            "Unfortunately, yes…Anyway, next time, make sure you don't eat lunch alone, no matter how much you want to. Unless of course you have time climbing up some tree where they can't see you…" They did a quick turn on the hall at their left, hoping that they lost the boys behind them. Lucky for them, they did. 

            "Thank you."

            "No problem, that's what friends are for anyway."

*          *          *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, about the name-thing…I got some weird idea from the episode where Lantis wakes up inside Nova's machin when Hikaru calls out his name and all…that's all I can say for now…Dunno if you can find any relation to that…Hehehehe… And as you can see, our hero here, didn't like to be called Lantis coz it gives him sad memories of his dead parents…so there…

            I hope I didn't make this chappie too weird for you…and made the two leading characters too OOC…blah…I reaaaaallly do hope not. Oh well…if Lantis is, well, my excuse is that he's acting a little bit quite his age…and he's 17 in this fic ppl…and of course there's his "Earthly" identity! Ok…that was a lousy excuse…Well then at least it does sound better than "…because I just felt like it…" or "I ate too much ice cream again…" Hehehehe…Oh and well…at least Guru Clef did a good job "arranging" Lantis' identity on Earth huh? Too bad his memories got messed up too.

            Hmm…wot else? I guess that's all…I hope I will not get flames for this…And Oh! Dun forget to review tew! Fanks a lot!


	4. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

            Hikaru had just finished her assignments. She let out a deep sigh and looked at her clock. 'It's still too early to sleep…' She stood up and then walked out of her bedroom door towards the living room, where her brothers are watching TV. 

            "BAKERO! That's mine!" Kakeru, the youngest among the three, told his elder brother, who ignored him and continued on munching at the food on his hands. "OI! Are you listening to me Masaru? MASARU!" he shouted at his brother's ear.

"I heard you, you loud-mouthed baka!" Masaru replied, shoving the rest of the uneaten sandwich to his mouth. 

"I would not be too loud if you had not stolen the sandwich _I_ made for _myself_, you pig!"

Satoru, the eldest among the Shidou brothers, sighed. He shot each of his brothers a good death-glare. "Do you mind? I'm trying to watch something here," he said, gritting his teeth.

"It's his fault, that idiot-of-a-brother of mine stole my sandwich!"

"Ha! Go and make yourself another one then! You fowl-mouthed brat!"

"Who did you called brat, pig?"

"What did you just call me?"

"Pig!"

"Say it again and I'm gonna…"

"You're gonna what, pig? Pig! Pig! Pig!"

"Wanna fight?"

"ENOUGH!" Satoru shouted at both of them, red with fury. He stood up and hit Kakeru's head with a rolled up newspaper. "Have you not any respect for your elders? Haven't we taught you not to call people names?" He caught Masaru smirking annoyingly at Kakeru, which made him give Masaru a taste of his newspaper with a loud 'whack!' on his head. 

"OWW!"

"And you! How could you stoop too low to steal your brother's food! You should be ashamed of yourself…taking advantage of your younger brother like that!"

Hikaru let out a giggle as she watched at the show in front of her, making her brothers turn their attention to her. She heard Satoru clear his throat, and then say, "Both of you should start acting like adults and stop making a fool of yourselves…and in front of your youngest sister too!" The two nodded in agreement. "Good…"

"Come and join us sis!" Kakeru invited her, patting the vacant space beside him.

"Yeah sis, the show's really good." She smiled and then sat with her brothers. They watched TV for two hours, laughing and talking. 

"Hey sis, I notice you've been staying at home more often for the past few months…" Masaru started to say.

"Hmm? What are you saying? I'm always like this…"

"Huh?" Kakeru said, looking very much surprised. "But you are staying at home more often now."

"Stop joking with me, you two. I've always been at home often. Where would I go?" she said, getting annoyed. 

            "But for the last three years you were…" 

            "You two, quit it," Satoru told them with a glare. "Go to sleep Hikaru, it's getting late."

            She let out a yawn. "Yeah, I'm beginning to get sleepy." She kissed her three brothers goodnight and then left them.

            "You two, let her be," Satoru started to say.

            "But don't you think it's strange?" Kakeru said.

            "At least she's not sulking around like she did 3 years ago."

            "Yeah…" Masaru agreed. "Now that was scary…"

            "She's staying home more often, which is good. Stop bothering her about it…At least we know she's safe."

***

            Hikaru lay on her bed and looked at the ceiling.  It had been a tiring day, she had run twice around school as often as she used to. She laughed at the image of Lantis' looking so lost in the middle of girls fighting at each other. Of course, she couldn't help but take his hand and pull him out of the mess. 'He'll get used to it…I'll just have to help him out 'til he does I guess.' That was the last thought she had before she drifted to sleep…

---(@)---

_            She found herself standing on a corridor and saw a small, fluffy creature in front of her. "Puu!" it said. She stared closely at the animal, she was about to take it in her arms when it quickly jumped out of reach and ran away. It stopped for a moment and said "Puu!" again. It then started bouncing away. _

_            She decided it wanted her to follow its trail so she chased it, and found herself inside an indoor garden. There, in the middle of the garden is a fountain. She noticed a man sitting on its edge, with birds perched on his shoulders, and one on his hand. _

_            He was very handsome. Despite of the strange clothes he was wearing, it didn't make him look funny. Instead, it made him look more attractive. _

_            She wanted to approach him, but hesitated. She was about to turn away and leave until he called out her name. "Hikaru." His voice was deep and manly…She found herself walking towards the fountain to join him. "Why did you want to leave? Are you afraid of me?" _

_            "No, I am not afraid of you."_

_            "Then why did you turn to leave?"_

_            "Because I didn't want to disturb you."_

_ They sat silently for a moment. She felt his hand lift up her chin gently to make her look at him. She was surprised of the warmth of his eyes. "I had been worried about you."_

_'He's worried about me…? But…I don't even know him!' Her reply caught her by surprise though. "I'm fine. You shouldn't be worrying about me."_

_She watched as he took a pendant he was wearing hidden underneath his armor. He carefully laid it on her hands and clasped his hands over hers tightly. "My mother gave this to me. She told me to give it to someone who is worthy."_

_"But…I…"_

_"Keep it for me. It will protect you someday."_

_***_

_She watched helplessly at the scene in front of her. He was there, unconscious. She wanted to help him so much but she did not know how. _

_"Call his name…" someone told her. "We don't have much time!"_

_"But I…"_

_"Call his name out loud! Please…he'll wake up when he hears you!"_

_'His name…? But I don't know his name…I don't know him…'_

_"HIKARU! IF YOU DON'T CALL HIM NOW, HE'LL DIE!"_

_She felt her knees collapse on the ground. 'No…Please…'_

_"HIKARU!!! HE'LL LISTEN TO YOU, HE LOVES YOU HIKARU!"_

_'He…loves me?'_

_"SHE'S GOING TO TAKE ALL HIS ENERGY AND KILL HIM IF THIS CONTINUES!"_

_"I can't…"_

_            "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T? HE HAD ALWAYS PROTECTED YOU…PLEASE HIKARU!"_

_            'He will die because of me…I don't want him to die…That voice…It told me to call his name…It told me he had always protected me…Why can't I remember? Why?'_

_            "I THOUGHT YOU LOVE HIM HIKARU! CALL OUT HIS NAME!"_

_            "I CAN'T!!!" she shouted at the voice, crying. Never had she felt so helpless in her whole life. All she could do was watch as lightning consumed him, and listen to the laugh of what sounded as to had come from a mad woman. _

_            "You could have saved him you know…" the voice said._

_---(@)---_

            She woke up with tears on her eyes. Even if she knew it was a dream she couldn't cease her crying. "It hurts…" she said in between her sobs. "All I had to do to save him was call out his name…And yet…I let him die." 

It was a dream, yes…but still here she was, crying for a man she never really knew…a man who might not even had existed at all. Yes it was a dream, but in that dream, for what little time they were together she felt content…and whole, a feeling that she hadn't felt for a very long time.

"I should have called out his name…"

***

"Are you sure you want to eat with me than with your friends?" she heard him ask as they walked out of their classroom.  

            "Why? Don't you want to eat with me?" she said with a fake pout.

            "It's not that…"

            "Besides, we're friends too right?" He didn't answer her question. "And I told you, you should not eat lunch by yourself. That is, if you don't want that canteen-incident happen again. I know a nice place where we can both eat in private without any interruptions from our so-called 'fans'."

            "You know, if you shouldn't be too nice to strangers like me…"

            "You are not a stranger, you're my friend."

            "Well, you should be careful in choosing your friends. Who knows? I might be some bloody pervert or something. I might take advantage of you…"

            "You're not like that…"

            "How can you be sure when you just met me in less than a week ago?"

            "Your eyes…they are like the wolves' during winter…but I see no trace of malice in them…Only sadness and loneliness…some anger maybe…but no malice. You are a good person Lantis, you will not take advantage of me…And I know that you will protect me, if someone dares to…" She gasped, very much surprised at her own words.

            Suddenly he stopped walking and looked at Hikaru eyes. She knew it was to see if she meant what she had just said…His look made her nervous. 'Hikaru, you idiot!' she scolded herself. 'Where did all of that come from?' Deep inside she knew she just spoken from her heart. But what she saw after that took all her nervousness away…He smiled at her. It was the first time she ever saw him really smile…

            "You had been crying…"

            "What?"

            "Your eyes are a little bit sore…Did something wrong happened?"

            "No…it's was just a nightmare…Let's go before those girls starts chasing you again."

            "…Or those boys starts running after you again."

***

He found himself staring at the back of the girl sitting in front of him and then heard a sigh escape from his lips. 'What the---! Where did that come from?' He frowned. _Where else would it come from, you idiot! _'Oh so now, I'm talking to myself…'_ Well, I guess it's a whole lot more interesting than putting up with your so-called 'English' class. _The voice inside his head was right; his English class was the most boring thing he had encountered in his whole life. 'Stupid bloody idiot,' he thought, as he remembered how the principal had explained that he was not exempted in attending the worthless subject. They were reading something similar he had learned when he was in grade school for God's sake! Not to mention their high-tempered instructor.

He looked at his open notebook and frowned deeper. _Surprise, surprise…_He had been 'unconsciously' sketching the view in front of him. _Specifically, the redhead…_He angrily tore the bloody page from his notebook and shoved it deep in his bag. '…Where nobody would even get a glance of it.' _Getting rid of the evidence eh?_ 'Shuttup!' _Admit it, you really find her cute…_Scratch that…not cute, "beautiful" is the word. He just had to smile while he corrected himself. Of course, the smile was very faint…barely noticeable. 

So what if he thinks she's attractive? He'd be mad if he hadn't, and no doubt the rest of the school's male population agrees with that thought. So she's a little bit too short for her age…it suits her anyway. She is very hyper…and friendly. Hell, she was even able to convince him they're friends! He remembered what she told him earlier. Her words might have sounded a little bit odd…But to him it felt just right. It was true, he will protect Hikaru Shidou if someone does try to take advantage of her…His smile broke into a wide grin when another realization hit him…Good thing everybody was too busy to notice the boy grinning like a madman…

He could almost hear Jean say _It's about time Master Kyle!_ 'No bloody way he'd know about this…at least not yet.'  

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yatta! *jumps up and down* I do think this chappie is the cutest so far…Maybe its from too much sugar…Wotever! Anyway…I kinda did my own version of the fountain-pendant incident…and that part where Nova had Lantis unconscious inside the Machin Regalia…just to make it a lil bit dramatic? I need ur reviews, onegai! Just to keep me a lil bit inspired to continue this story. Until the next chappie…Ja ne!  


	5. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

            Somewhere, surrounded by eternal darkness, two voices can be heard. "Do you think they will pass this test?" said the woman's voice.

            "They should or they will die like the others…" a deep, male voice answered. "The mage sent him to her world just as we had expected."

            "Why do we have to do this?"

            "…Because this is our purpose. We have to see if their love is true…"

            "We didn't have to test Emeraude and Zagato…"

            "You are right…but their love had been tested by the Pillar system itself…They also died, remember? They opted to die to be with each other…While the situation with the current chosen one and the Magic Swordsman is different…"

            "We had been sleeping for years, haven't we?"

            "Yes, until Zagato and Emeraude awakened us…Sefiro had forgotten our legend…Zagato even thought it was his heart that made me. He didn't know he just awakened me…Nobody knew there were two Mashin Gods."

            "Blame the Pillar system for that…"

            "Yes…we weren't needed since it had been created. The Pillar wasn't allowed to fall in love with anybody…Only Emeraude broke that rule, and so we were awakened. You know very well that once that system was abolished, we had earned back our old position…but alas we are forgotten."

            "Even the Master Mage does not know the true legend…We were sealed thousands of years before his birth, it is understandable he is not aware of our existence…Enough of that, our duty is to Sefiro's Chosen One and Chosen One's life-mate. Too bad, nobody is aware of their purpose anymore."

            "She might have abolished the Pillar system, but she is still the only one who can harness Sefiro's infinite power. Eventually, her life-mate will share that power…It cannot be helped. It is our purpose to test their love for each other, and if proven, our purpose is to serve them."

            "Many died because they failed the test…"

            "It was only because their love for each other is not strong…Remember the last Chosen One we had tested?"

            "Yes, she lived, he died…She was so heart-broken…We had proved he was only after her power…She was so devastated that she created the Pillar system…She had created the legend of the Magic Knights to make sure nobody will suffer the same fate…Those Elemental Mashin Gods were created just in case we are to be awakened…I cannot blame her, it is true that we had been the cause of so many heartbreaks…"

            "No…Those hearts would have been broken even if we didn't exist. Do not worry, I have a feeling that they will get through this…You might even have to merge with the Mashin God Rayearth if that happens."

            "Rayearth will have to take a woman's form then, Ares. Even then, I will still be Aphrodite, the one and only Mashin Goddess, Sefiro's forgotten symbol of love…"

            "And I will always be beside you, for my duty is to fight to protect this love. I am the Mashin God of Protection and Courage after all."

***

            Kyle opened his mother's jewelry box and took out the pendant inside it. He could almost hear his mother's voice… _"Your father gave it to me, Lantis…as your grandfather had given it to your grandmother. When the time comes, it will be your turn to give this to the one worthy of its ownership."_ He was still very young when that happened…too young to understand what his mother meant. 

            "Mother…" he whispered, putting the chain that supports it around his neck, hiding the pendant underneath his shirt. "Your wish will soon be fulfilled, Mother…I have found someone worthy enough to own this pendant."

            He took his school bag which had been laying on top of the study table beside his bed, got out of his room and headed to the dining room where Jean had been waiting for him, ready to make sure that he eat his breakfast. "You should try the strawberry jam, Master Kyle…" his butler said, grinning.

            "Really Jean, I must say, you have an odd sense of humor. Do you want me to loose my appetite this morning because of that awfully sweet jam?" 

            "Better have an odd sense of humor than none at all…that's what my mother used to say. Do you want some sugar on your coffee, Master Kyle?"

            "Jean!" 

            "Oh well, at least I tried…" He continued having his breakfast, finishing a slice of bread after another… Despite of his hearty appetite, one can still say that he ate elegantly… "Why, Master Kyle…I am very glad that your appetite had improved since we came here…"

            "I've been running around school often…"

            "How so?"

            "…Some crazy girls had taken the habit of chasing me around…"

            "Girls? But then of course, with your handsome looks I guess it's only natural for them to take a liking to you."

            He only grunted in response, eating his last piece of bacon. "Jean, will you please see if the driver is ready? I will just finish drinking my coffee and then I'll be going to school." 

            "Yes Master Kyle…" Jean replied, and did what he was told. After a few minutes, the butler came back informing him that the driver was ready to go as soon as Kyle is ready. "The driver had requested to tell you not to jump out of the car all of the sudden as you did the first day you went to school." 

            "Thank you Jean. I will tell him not to worry this time…"

            The drive to school had been quick as usual. He was getting quite irritated at the talkative driver though. At first of course, he didn't mind…until he started calling him 'son' and getting too cozy that he's beginning to be impertinent…He also had the habit of swearing too much, which Kyle didn't like at all…So Kyle just shot the driver a good glare through the rear-view mirror to put him in his proper place… 'Works every time…' he told himself. 

***

            "Ne, Hikaru-chan…I bet all of the girls here are jealous of you now…" Chiharu said, as they waited for their teacher to come.

            "Hehhh??? Why do you say that?"

            "Well…who wouldn't be? I mean, the only girl Kyle-kun ever did pay attention to is you…" Keiko informed her. "And you do know he is the latest male heart-throb…"

            "There's really no reason for them to get jealous of me…We're just friends…"

            "Don't you think he's cute?"

            "Well…I…" she said, blushing.

            "See…see…you're blushing!"

            "Mou…quit teasing me…" 

            Her friends giggled. "Why shouldn't we? You two are always together…Frankly, I'd say you do look perfect together…So what kind of person is he really?"

            "He's really nice…"

            "Oh?"

            "Really he is! He just don't like to be with too much people I guess…"

            "So…tell us really, don't you think he's cute?"

            "Of course he is! I mean…err…who doesn't…right?" she stammered. "…Specially when he smiles…"

            "HE SMILES AT YOU???"

            "Well…err…yeah…I mean…not that often but…"

            "Oh my gosh! He smiles at you!!!"

            "I mean, I bet nobody else ever seen that guy smile at all!"

            "Shhhh…he's here…"

            Hikaru's blush worsened when she caught Lantis' looking at her as he entered their classroom. He gave her one of his rare smiles as he walked. "Wow! Now, I see what you mean about the smile Hikaru-chan…" Chiharu whispered. Instead of walking directly towards his seat, he stopped in front of her. "Hi Kyle-kun!" Chiharu said, all dreamy-eyed.

            "Good morning, Kyle-kun…" Keiko greeted him sweetly.

            He simply nodded at them in reply; he cleared his throat, and stood silently afterwards as if waiting for the two girls to leave him with Hikaru. They were of course smart enough to get the message and went to their respected seats.

            "Good morning Hikaru-chan…" he greeted her as soon as the girls left.

            "Good morning Lantis-kun."

            "You look flushed…Are you sick?" he asked her as he put his hand on her forehead. "You seem to have a slight fever…"

            "NO! I mean…It's just too hot this morning…And I walked around before coming here and all…" she said, looking at the floor.

            "Are you sure?"

            "Yes…"

            "Good…Because I wouldn't want to carry you around school the whole time if you get too weak to stand up." Hikaru's head shot up and found he had moved face very close to hers, watching it intently. She dared look straight at his eyes. She could have sworn she saw mischief there. Before she could even reply, he turned around and then went to his seat.      


	6. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

            Classes are finally over and it was time to go home. Chiharu and Keiko had told Hikaru earlier that they would not be able to walk with her home that day. After saying goodbye to her friends, she went on her way. She hadn't been feeling well actually, she was starting to think that she got her brother's fever.

            She opened her umbrella, before leaving their building. It had started raining an hour before, something that had always been expected since the rainy season had already started. She saw Lantis in the front of their school gate, getting in his car. He had offered her a ride home, which she declined, telling him that she needed to pass by somewhere first.

            She continued her usual route towards their house. She saw a young girl, supposedly a freshmen in her school, crying in front pharmacy. She knew it was none of her business but she felt she just had to ask what was wrong. She approached the crying girl and assumed that the girl had forgotten her umbrella and was stuck in the rain. Without having any second thoughts, she offered her own umbrella to the girl, even if it meant that she would have to run home without one. 

            "Domo arigatou gozaimasu!!!" the girl thanked her, giving her a very low bow in the process. "My mother is sick and I need to be home soon, nobody else is with her now see…but I forgot my umbrella and got stuck here."

            "It was nothing…Now hurry home, your mother must be very worried now." The girl nodded and quickly left. 

            She sneezed, and realized that she was beginning to feel chilly. She let out another sneeze and then another. Thinking that the rain would not probably stop, she decided to run home. "I just have to take the short cut this time."

***

            Lantis didn't know why, but he quickly gave instructions to his driver to alter their route. He frowned as he gave the directions on where to go…He saw that the driver was getting tensed, 'He must be thinking about the last time.' 

            "Stop the car," Lantis said. "Wait here."

            'At least he didn't just jump out like before.' That was what went on his driver's mind when he went out of his car.  He didn't bother to take his umbrella with him…something told him that it would only cause difficulty later on. His feet brought him to the park, where he found her lying on the wet grass, unconscious. 

            He hurriedly picked her up in his arms and carried her towards the car. He gave the driver a glare that would stop any questions that would dare come out of the man's mouth. He carefully slid her into the backseat, making sure she is comfortably seated before he got himself in the car and sat beside her.

            "Drive." Hikaru was burning up with fever and since he didn't know where she lived, he decided to bring her home. 'To hell what people think,' he thought to himself, 'she needs to be taken care of'. He pulled her into his arms, with no other reason on his mind but to offer her comfort and warmth.

***

            "Master Kyle!" Jean exclaimed when he opened the door. The young master was dripping wet from presumably going out on the rain without an umbrella. "He's carrying an unconscious girl in his arms. 

            "Tell a maid I need some decent woman's clothes for Hikaru to change into and tell her to be quick since I need someone to change it for her. I'm taking her to the guestroom."

            Jean opened his mouth to ask some questions, but he changed his mind. "Yes, Master Kyle."

            "And call the doctor after talking to the maid, will you Jean?" Lantis went after seeing him nod.

            "Mariko! Mariko!" he called out loud.

            "Yes Mr. Colins?"

            "Master Kyle's, err, lady guest had been caught in the rain and she needs some dry clothes. Can you let her borrow yours?"

            "Yes Mr. Colins."

            "Thank you Mariko. Please do hurry up…she is unconscious and burning up with fever. She needs to get out of those wet clothes…and well, we know Master Kyle cannot take over to that task…"

            "I understand. I'll go now."

***

            Slowly she opened her eyes and shot up her bed when she realized she wasn't in her room. "Do not worry, you're in my house. I saw you lying unconsciously at the park. You were burning up with fever and I don't know where you live so I brought you here." She saw Lantis, sitting on a chair next to her bed. Standing beside him is an old man, probably in his sixties.

            "Thank you, Lantis-kun." She saw the old man's eyes widened out of surprise. "Is there something wrong?"

            "It's nothing, you should not worry about anything…This is my butler, and also a good friend of mine, Jean Colins."

            "Do not stress yourself Miss, the doctor said you need to rest," Jean said.

            "But I…I need to go home…My brothers will be worried about me…"

            "Actually, at this time I think they are already worried…It's already one in the morning…Please, you need your rest. I will bring you home tomorrow. If it would ease your mind, you can give me your home number and I will call your brothers up and tell them you are alright."

            Hikaru nodded and then wrote her telephone number on the paper Jean handed her. It was only after that when she realized that she wasn't wearing her own clothes. She felt herself blush. As if knowing what was going on her mind, Lantis said, "Mariko, our maid, changed them for you. Now please, lie down and do not worry about anything. I'm going to take care of you. You trust me don't you?"

            "Yes Lantis. Thank you for saving me again…"

            "It's nothing."

***

            After talking to Hikaru's brother on the phone and assuring him that she's alright, Jean approached his young master, giving him a cup of coffee. "You should be resting now, Master Kyle."

            "I'm fine." Kyle took the coffee from Jean's hands and started drinking. "She's a good friend of mine…"

            "I see." The boy noticed that there is something else in his butler's mind. He also knew that Jean was too polite to ask him about it. "It doesn't hurt when she calls me with that name…" he explained. The old man can only nod in understanding.


	7. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

            Hikaru woke up that morning finding Lantis still sitting beside her and holding her hand as he slept. 'He must have been awake all night, looking after me…' She didn't know what was it, but something made her run her fingers of her free hand through his hair…She smiled as she softly touched his cheek…

She remembered how he assured her that he'd take care of her the night before, and how he told her not to worry about anything. '…He must be very tired…' She then realized that he had saved her life, not once, but twice already. 'He's really nice to me…and I can tell he cares about me a lot…' She became suddenly aware of her unsteadily, fast heartbeat as she stared at his sleeping form. The image of the man in her dreams suddenly came in her mind… 'This is the same feeling I had, while talking to that man in the garden…' She felt light as a breeze, and very, very happy. She knew, at that moment, she was whole again…as she had been months ago…

What had made her feel incomplete, she didn't know…she probably wouldn't find out…But as she looked at the boy beside her, she realized it didn't matter anymore…She continued caressing his cheeks, as if not really aware of her actions until she realized that he was starting to wake up. She blushed, and quickly withdrew her hand from his face. 

She watched as he slowly opened his eyes, and straightened himself. "Ohayo, Lantis."

"Good morning, Hikaru. How long you've been awake?"

"Not too long ago…"

"You should have woken me up."

"I was just…" _watching you _"…Err…I have the habit of just staying in bed for a few minutes after I wake up in the mornings…"

"I see…"

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel much better now, thank you."

"I'm going to bring you home this afternoon…" She suddenly felt a little sad when she heard this. "I know you wouldn't want to worry your brothers too much." She nodded, although for the first time in her life, she didn't really mind what her brothers had been thinking at that moment.

He only stared at her intently after that---There was something in his gaze that made Hikaru feel awkward and tore her eyes from him. She blushed again, as she ended up looking at the hand he was still holding. 

She suddenly found herself wishing that someone would just enter the room, finding the silence unbearable. She scolded herself and told herself to think of something to say…A sudden loud grumbling of Hikaru's stomach finally broke the silence between them. "I guess your hungry already. I'll tell Jean to bring your breakfast here…"

"No need. I'm really feeling much better now that it's not necessary for someone to bring my food here in my room."

"But…"

"I'm really fine…"

"You are so stubborn."

"My brothers tell me that too," she told him with a smile.

He sighed, as if admitting his defeat. "Fine. I'll go downstairs to tell them to get the breakfast ready." 

"Uhm…Lantis…Can I have a shower first? I promise I'd use warm water and…I'll be really, really careful."

"I'll tell Mariko to come here help you…"

"Mou…I can do it myself!" she said pouting.

"Please Hikaru-chan. You just had a fever…You know I worry about you."

"Alright then."

"Thank you."

***

            Lantis stood frozen on his place when he saw Hikaru. "Lantis-kun!" she said, waving at his face. He was just about to go upstairs to tell her that breakfast is ready, when he found her running down the stairs. It was the first time he had seen her hair unbraided, and the last thought that went in his mind was, 'God, she's so beautiful.' 

She giggled as she took his hand, and then asked him, "So…are we gonna have our breakfast now?" 

He nodded and led her to the dining room, where Jean was waiting for them. "Good morning Miss Hikaru."

"Good morning!" she said, and flashed the old man a very sunny smile. "Wow! It looks so yummy!!!"

'She sure is back to her old genki self,' Lantis thought. 

She ate to her heart's content, complimenting everything, starting from the bread to the tea. Despite of her large appetite, she never looked like she was eating like a pig. "Ne…that was realllyyy goooodddd…" she said, patting contentedly at her stomach. "Ne Jean-san, can u please tell the cook that the food was really delicious?" Jean smiled, telling her that he would. "Thank you Jean-san. It's ok if I call you Jean-san right? I didn't really catch your surname…"

"Yes, Miss Hikaru."

"So, you're my friend now too, right?"

The butler raised his eyebrow in surprise. He found himself saying, "Yes of course, Miss Hikaru."

            Lantis cleared his throat to catch her attention and then asked, "So will you tell us now what exactly happened?"

            "Well…it's really kind of silly…"

            "Tell…"

            Hikaru took a deep breath and then started to relate the story of about how she saw the crying girl and lending her the umbrella…

            'What a fascinating girl!' Jean thought, when Hikaru finished her story. 'No wonder why she was able to melt Master Kyle's heart.'

***

            "I'd better warn you now…" Hikaru told Lantis as they stood in front of Hikaru's house. "…My brothers are really kind of over-protective so…I think they'd freak out when they see you."

            Lantis only nodded, but kept what Hikaru said in mind. He then rang the doorbell, and 'braced himself'. He mentally kicked himself for even forgetting to ask why they'd freak out. They were greeted by a man slightly older than them, who literally pounced on Hikaru, crying. "MY BABY IMOUTO IS FINALLY HOME!!!!" 

            Another one came, who did the same as the first one. "HIKARU-CHANNNN!!!"

            "I---can't---breathe---" the girl said, gulping for air because of the fact that two, well-built men were actually hugging her very tightly.

            The two quickly let go of their sister, and started asking questions, "What happened?"

            "How's your fever?"

            "Are you alright now?"

            "Did someone hurt you?"

            "Did they take care of you well?"

            "A-anou…" Hikaru started to say, but was cut off when their brothers finally noticed Lantis, who was standing beside her.

            "Who are you?"

            "What have you done to our sister?"

            "Yeah! What have you done to our sister?"

            "Aaahhhh!!! Don't stand too close to her…You'll shatter her innocence, gaijin!!!" one said as he tried to pull Lantis and Hikaru apart.

            "Stop it Masaru-niisan, Kakeru-niisan…He's the one who saved me."

            The two narrowed their eyes at him…he couldn't help glaring back. "That is enough! You will treat this young man with respect!" Someone said from behind Hikaru's brothers. It was then that Lantis saw the eldest of the Shidou siblings. "I take that you are the one who saved my sister?"

            "Yes, my name is Kyle McKnight."

            "I see…Please forgive my brothers' insolence. I am Satoru Shidou, and these are Masaru and Kakeru…Would you please come inside?" 

"But Satoru-niisama!!!" Masaru started to say, but got cut off by the death-glare Satoru gave him.

Lantis was about to say 'no', until he saw Hikaru giving him a puppy-eye look. He sighed and then nodded.

***

            "So it was you to whom my butler had spoken to…" Lantis said to Satoru, sipping the tea that he was offered to drink.

            "Yes. He said you found her lying on the park, burning with fever…"

            "She told me she had lent some girl her own umbrella…"

            "How like her…She have this habit of thinking of other first than her own safety…"

            Lantis nodded in agreement. "Yes, I had witnessed her do that twice already."

            "Twice you say?"

            "She was nearly ran over by a speeding truck, trying to help a kitten in the middle of the road."

            "…And you saved her at that time also…"

            "How did you---?"

            "I just assumed you did. So I was right…"

            "It was really nothing…"

            "You saved her life twice."

            "Well…I suppose it was something."

            "I don't think we can ever repay you for what you had done for her."

            "Do not think about it…I am glad she is safe now…Aren't you? Besides…nevermind…"

            "Besides, what?"

            "It is nothing important."

            "I see…"


	8. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

            Finally, Hikaru had been able to get away from Masaru and Kakeru. Her two brothers never left her side since she got home, dragging her away from Lantis, asking her questions and telling her how much they missed their baby. She slightly frowned at the thought that they still call her 'baby', she's already eighteen for Kami's sake!

            She silently entered the livingroom, and found Lantis talking with her brother. Both men noticed her presence, her brother asking her to join them. "McKnight-san told me about the incident with the kitten…" Satoru told her. She blushed, embarrassed about her own carelessness. 

            "He prefers to be called with his first name onii-sama," she said, hoping that it would change the subject.

            "She is right," Lantis confirmed. 

            "I see…Yes of course…And you can call me by my name, 'Satoru'."

            "Very well…By the way Hikaru, here are the assignments for tomorrow. I have asked someone to get it from school…" Lantis said, handing her a few pieces of paper. 

            "Wah! I forgot it's still a school day today! Thank you, Lantis-kun!" Both suddenly saw Satoru tensed up, looking very much surprised. "Onii-sama? Oh! You didn't know we're in the same class, did you?" Hikaru explained.

            "What did you just call him?"

            "Oh, it's actually his second name…but he really prefers to be called 'Kyle'," she said, looking apologetically at Lantis. 

            "I'd better get going…" Lantis said, rising from his seat. "It was nice meeting you…"

            "But you just got here!" Hikaru told him.

            "As much as I want to stay Hikaru-chan, I have important business matters to attend to."

            "We'd better not be keeping him, Hikaru, he can come back and visit anytime," Satoru told his sister. Hikaru beamed at her brother's statement and nodded. The two men shook hands, and then Lantis left.

            Hikaru looked at Satoru worriedly. She was used to her brother's quiet character, but she sensed something was bothering him after Lantis went home. "Onii-sama?"

            "Hikaru, how long since you two had been classmates?" he suddenly asked.

            "Since that kitten-incident…"

            "I see…"

***

            Satoru quietly stepped into Hikaru's room to check on her. He found her sleeping like an angel…Well, not really, Hikaru moves around a lot when she sleeps…but she looks like an angel nonetheless. 

            "Lantis…" he heard her say in her sleep as she hugged her pillow tightly. 

'I thought she stopped calling out that name a few months ago…' 

"Lantis…" 

He remembered how his sister was three years ago. She came back from that fieldtrip to the Tokyo tower very disturbed…and very sad. He listened as she cried every-night…He watched as she tossed and turned during her sleep, always having a nightmare. 

Then one day, she came home from school, looking very different…The sadness in her eyes were gone…they were sparkling again. Something told him that she finally got over the hell she had been living in. It made him glad. His old, 'genki' imouto was back! And there was something more…somehow she looked more mature. 

That night, he decided to check on her while she was sleeping. She was smiling in her sleep, hugging her pillow tight, just as she was now…That was the first time Satoru heard her call out that name…

It took a long time for her to finally tell him the whole story…of her extraordinary journey to maturity…of her adventures in a world where the strength of will determines everything…of 'him'. He believed her…he knew she wouldn't just make up a story like that…And he knew, eventually she'll leave them, and stay in that land for good…because there is where her heart is. They never talked about it again. 

"Lantis…"

Satoru sighed, covered his sister's body with a blanket and walked out of her room. 'It cannot be…' he told himself. 'She told me they just met weeks ago…He cannot be the same person…' Besides, his sister told him that Lantis was actually almost the same age as him…Yet she told him that Lantis has black hair and piercing purple eyes…like that boy. 'Damn it! What's going on?'

            Satoru entered his own room, staring at the ceiling, lost in his own thoughts. Is it possible that Lantis' will to protect his sister was so strong that it caused him to follow her here? 

            He shook his head and sighed. 'If that's the case, I wouldn't have to worry…She's in good hands…' 

***


	9. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

            Back in the void, the two Mashins observed the pair from their dark abode. "Well, well, well…that was quite a surprise…"

            "Indeed. He could still sense her danger…"

            "His will to protect her is quite strong…"

            "I think there is something more than that…Don't you think…Don't you think that it's possible that his soul is bonded to hers?"

            "It can be considered…it seems that in every case he seemed to have acted on pure impulse…yet he could find her exact location…Why don't we find out? They say the third time is always a charm…"

            "…You are not thinking of something drastic aren't you?"

            "I do not have to. Our duty is to watch, not intervene after we cast the Spell of Ephemeral Tribulation on the pair. The spell itself will generate the obstacles they would need to undertake."

            "Ares…"

            "Aphrodite, I know you are worried…But if they're love is strong, they will be able to break the spell."

            "It's just taking them too long…We have to admit, since they both live in different worlds, the spell is much stronger compared to the past. Memories of Sefiro had brought them together, and the spell took it from them…

            "There is nothing we can do now, but watch…and hope."

***

            As if by fate, Lantis found himself entering the school gates at the same time as Hikaru. She greeted him in her usual _genki _way. "Ohayo Lantis-kun!"

            "Ohayo Hikaru-chan," he greeted back, flashing her his rare smiles, which is now broader than the usual. "Feeling much better now I hope?"

            "Yes, thanks for your help. Satoru told me that he's been looking forward to seeing you again…He said he wants to ask you something important."

            "I see…I wonder what it could be?"

            Hikaru just shrugged. "Knowing him, it could be anything."

            "Maybe I'll visit sometime in the weekend…I have a feeling your other brothers would not like it very much though…"

            Hikaru giggled and said, "They're just like that."

            "If I had such a sister as beautiful as you, I think I'd be as protective as they are…" Lantis mumbled, not aware that Hikaru heard what he just said. 

            "Ah-hehehehe…" Hikaru said, blushing furiously. "Uh…thanks…"

            Their usually noisy classroom became really quiet when the two entered. The looks their classmates were giving them were very disturbing for both of them. Lantis ended up giving each and everyone a piercing glare…enough to scare the hell out of anybody. "What the bloody hell are you looking at?" 

            Each person mumbled at their own excuses, and then went back in doing their own business. "I wonder what's wrong?" Hikaru said. Lantis could only shrug as he approached his seat, obviously in a very bad mood all of a sudden.

            It wasn't long until Chiharu and Keiko approached the clueless Hikaru, dragging her out of the room. "What's going on?" Hikaru asked her friends. 

            "Well that's what we want to ask you," Chiharu told her.

            "See yesterday, when the both of you were absent, Kyou-kun said that he saw Kyle-kun carry you to his car the day before at the park…"

            "Yeah…at first we didn't believe him…but then, after that, Mikoto-kun overheard Kobayashi-sensei talking to someone telling him that you were in Kyle-kun's house and that you two would not be going to school that day. And well knowing Mikoto, he can't be lying…"

            "Plus, this morning, Maki-chan swore she saw Kyle-kun and you get out from his car in front of your house and walked in, hand in hand yesterday…I mean, no boy classmate, or even close male acquaintance of yours had been able to step in the Shidou residence considering how protective your brothers are about you."

            "Kagome-chan confirmed this since they were walking home together…"

            "But…we're just friends…they can't be assuming that…"

            "They are…you two had gotten awfully close since he came here. I mean, you are often seen together everywhere you go in the campus."

            "In short, everybody thinks you're a couple now…"

            She didn't know what to do. She knew Lantis wouldn't like it…She was supposed to help Lantis to get used to their school, not give him trouble. 'What will he think of me now?'

***

            Lantis' scowl had never left his face since Hikaru walked back in the room with her friends. She was pale, and looking very distressed at that time. He found out, from some boys from his class, about the rumors circulating between him and Hikaru. He wasn't really bothered about what people had been thinking about them, what irritated him was that the rumors made Hikaru very upset. 'Damn those bloody idiots…can't mind their own damn business…' 

            He slipped a worried gaze at the girl sitting in front of him. 'If it bothers her that much, I guess I have to keep my distance for a while…' He watched as she let out a deep sigh…If he does leave her alone, then what? 'She'd be more upset…thinking I'm avoiding her because of those bloody rumors…' Besides, he's very much aware that he couldn't stay away from the redhead… 'Unless of course if she asks me to…'

             The school bell rang, signaling the end of their Math class and the start of their lunch break. Usually, Hikaru would be turning around to face him, telling him to hurry up…But now, she just silently remained in her seat…

            Lantis sighed, stood up and approached her. He was very much aware of his classmates' gaze, but he didn't care. "Hey," he started to say, lifting her chin slightly…And there, in her eyes he saw embarrassment and what's that---guilt? "I have a problem with a group of deranged fans, can you help me cope with that?" He flashed her a reassuring smile…It was then that she smiled back at him and nodded. He offered her his hand, and she took it. 

            Before they left the classroom, Lantis turned to his classmates and said, "By the way, we're just friends…Next time, keep your bloody noses out of other people's business."

***

            "That wasn't nice…" Hikaru scolded Lantis as they walked towards their usual dining place.

            "Since when did they think I was nice? Besides, they should really mind their own business."

            "Meanie."

            "If your brothers finds out about this one, they'll skin my hide. I can already hear what's his name---?"

            "Kakeru."

            "Yes, Kakeru."

            "He'll say, 'I told you I was right about that _gaijin!_'" Hikaru said, laughing. 

            "Hikaru-chan…"

            "Hmm…"

            "I'll always be there for you, no matter what. Always remember that."

            "Un," Hikaru nodded.

            "Never doubt it…even once…Okay?"

            "Okay."

            She gave him a questioning look when he suddenly stopped walking. "Hikaru-chan…I have something to give you…"

            "Hmm…?"

            She noticed he had been fumbling at the chain necklace on his neck…He was going to take it off when… "THERE THEY ARE!" someone shouted behind them. 

            "Run!" she told him. 

***


	10. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

            Lantis took a quick glance at the grandfather clock in the corner of his study. He had just finished reading important documents related to their family business that he had inherited from his father and the task had given him quite a headache. Not that he have no idea about these things, his uncle, which is also his guardian and lawyer, made sure that he would be very capable running a company by the age of sixteen. 

Despite of that, Lantis had firmly stated that he would not completely take over until he had finished business school, leaving his Uncle Joe in charge. He always had a say in every decision regarding their business though, not abandoning his responsibility as the owner of one of the biggest company in the whole world. 

He stood up from his table, arranged the papers he had been reading earlier and placed it on the folder beside him. He had promised Hikaru the day before that he would come over this afternoon and he has no intention to break it. 

He stepped out of the study and headed to the main hall. "Jean! Jean!" he called out. "I'm going out." 

Being an efficient butler as he is, Jean was already by his side, ready to assist his young master. Handing Kyle his umbrella and coat, Jean said, "But Master Kyle, isn't it too early for you to come to Miss Hikaru's house?"

"I intend to take a walk around first. Don't bother calling the driver," the boy replied, putting on his coat. Seeing the worried look on the old man's eyes, he said, "Do not worry Jean, I'll be fine."

He looked up the gray sky as soon as he stepped out of his mansion and then headed towards the park. He felt more relaxed when rain started to fall…Walking in the rain had always calmed him. The quick flash of lightning and loud roar of thunder had never intimidated him, even as a child---and he had always felt an attachment to them, actually. 

He began to think of Hikaru as rain continued to fall. Since that rainy afternoon when he had brought Hikaru in his house, he was beginning to think that there was something more behind these so-called 'accidents'…Of course, that idea does sound odd. But he had saved her twice too, and he was quite aware of that certain "feeling" he had been having every time the girl is in danger…that he also thought to be odd. Something takes over him, brings him to her presence just in time to rescue her. 'It's almost as if…as if I was born just to protect her.'

***

            "WHAT? YOU MEAN THAT _GAIJIN_ IS COMING OVER?" Kakeru shouted out loud.

            "Mou…Kakeru-niisan, aren't you over-reacting a little bit?" Hikaru said, pouting. "Satoru-niisama asked him to come over after all…"

            "Well I don't like him!"

            "I agree," Masaru seconded. "I don't like him either…much more, I don't trust him."

            "Shut up both of you, you're upsetting your sister," Satoru told them, frowning. "He is Hikaru's friend."

            "But onii-sama, I just could not let any boy get close with our _kawaii_ little sister," Masaru said. 

            "Yes, Masaru is right! Especially that _gaijin_!"

            "But…Lantis-kun is my friend…Can't you try to be nice to him?" 

            "Hell no!"

            "Over my dead body!"

            "My decision is final, Kyle McKnight has my permission to come over and visit. I am your eldest brother and you will respect my decision!" Satoru stated with a voice reeking with authority.

            The others were just about to object some more but were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. "I'll get it!" Hikaru said, racing to the door. "Hello Lantis-kun, come in." Hikaru took Lantis' hand and led him to the living room.

            "Oh great! The _gaijin _is here…" Masaru said, glaring at Lantis.

            Kakeru, on the other hand, noticed his sister holding the young man, started freaking out. "Ahhh!!!! Don't hold him!!! _Gaijin, _get your clammy hands off my sister!!!" he said, pulling Hikaru away from Lantis.

            "Kakeru! Masaru! Stop that! Kyle-san is a guest so treat him with respect!" Satoru told his brothers. 

            "Kakeru-niisan…Masaru-niisan…" Hikaru said in a pleading voice. "Please…?"

            "No!"

            "Never! I don't trust him! Please understand, Hikaru-chan, we're only protecting you from that…that _gaijin no baka_…" Masaru said, pointing at Lantis.

            Satoru took a deep breath and stood up. He was about to start scolding his brothers but was interrupted by Hikaru's sudden outburst. "WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME? I'M NOT A CHILD ANYMORE! LANTIS IS MY FRIEND! HOW DARE YOU JUDGE HIM WRONGLY AFTER WHAT HE HAD DONE? HE SAVED MY LIFE NOT ONLY ONCE, BUT TWICE! AND HOW DO YOU REPAY HIM?" 

            "Hikaru-chan…" Kakeru started to say.

            "YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!" Hikaru said as she ran outside the house crying. 

            "See what you have done?" Satoru told his brothers. 

            "Let's follow her," Masaru told Kakeru.

            "You two are the last person she would want to see right now, so don't waste your energy," Satoru said.

            "But it's raining outside and she went out without an umbrella again…"

            "She just got well…"

            "I'll bring her back," Lantis announced glaring at Masaru and Kakeru. He quickly turned around and left.

            "But…"

            "Enough, we all stay here. He'll find her faster than any of us can," Satoru said.

            "What do you mean?"

            "Nothing that your narrow minds can understand," Satoru snapped at them. 

***

            Again, he let his instincts lead him. He knew, something would happen to Hikaru. He also knew that he might not get to her in time. It was raining hard, so hard that it blurred Lantis' vision. 

            He was getting worried…the continuous claps of thunder somehow weakened his concentration. He stopped running for a while, trying to sense her… 'Damn!' he swore under his breath, at the same time started running again. 'Kami…Bring me to her…' 

            He made a quick turn to a lane on his left, recognizing it as the shortcut from school to Hikaru's house. The wind was getting quite violent, 'That's odd, there weren't any report of a storm coming…'

            'Lantis…' someone whispered from deep inside him. 'Lantis…'

            "Lead me to her…" he said out loud. 

            'Hurry…' 

            He saw her lying face down on an empty sidewalk. He might be still a couple of meters away from each other, but he is very sure that the girl there is Hikaru. 'Am I too late?' he asked himself as he dashed towards her. His eyes widened at the sight of a large defective post threatening to crash on the unconscious girl any second. He didn't have time to ponder what caused it to be unstable at the first place…All he could think about was that Hikaru would be awfully hurt, and no matter how much he tried, there still won't enough time for him to get to her out of the way. 

            Everything seemed to go in slow motion after that. He was able to reach her just before the post fell over them. "CRESTA!" he shouted out of desperation, creating a strong barrier to protect both of them. He didn't know how it got there, but he was holding his sword, and had struck it on the ground after uttering the word. "Have-to-get-Hikaru-home…" he said, gritting his teeth, as he felt his strength slowly drain away from him.

            He found himself facing of the Shidou's front door, with Hikaru still unconscious beside him. He forced himself to stand up, lifted his sword from the ground and saw it disappear from his sight. He was tired…but he still has one thing to do. He lifted Hikaru in his arms, which was very difficult due to his major energy loss. He managed to ring the doorbell, and hand Hikaru's limp form into Satoru's arms before he felt himself give in to exhaustion and to his old memories.

***__

_            "I'm going back to Sefiro, Eagle," he told his silver-haired friend._

_            "What? Why? Aren't you happy here?"_

_            "I have to do something very important."_

_            "Does it have something to do with the death of the former Pillar?"_

_            "I will not let anybody suffer the same fate, Eagle."_

_            "I understand. Goodbye, my friend. I have a feeling we are going to meet again…"_

_***_

_            "I'm lost! I want my Mama!" cried the little girl in front of him. _

_"It's alright now, don't cry anymore…I'll take you back to your Mama, would you like that?" Lantis said as he tried to comfort her. _

_"Okay…" the little girl said meekly. Her face brightened all of a sudden as she looked behind him. "Oneechan!!!" she exclaimed. He turned around to see one of the magic knights walking towards them. "Oneechan! Do you remember me? I was that kid you saved from the monster long ago…My name is Mira."_

_"Oh yes! I remember! I'm Hikaru."_

_"Onii-chan offered to take me back to Mama…would you like to come with us?"_

_"Uh…sure…that is if…"_

_"Let's go," Lantis said, taking a side-glance at the red-haired magic knight. 'She's beautiful…'_

_            It wasn't long until they reached the residential area of the palace. Mira waved them goodbye and then ran towards her room after making Hikaru promise to visit her sometime. The two of them walked silently together for sometime until Hikaru broke the silence. "I'm sorry…"_

_            Taken aback by Hikaru's apology, Lantis replied, "What are you apologizing for?"_

_            "…Please, I'm sorry I killed your brother. If you want to take your revenge, please, take it on me…Just leave my friends out of it…they have suffered too much already…they cry in their sleep every-single night…I…"_

_            "I think…you cried on your sleep too." He felt pity for the suffering girl beside him. "I never did blame you nor your friends…If there is something to blame…I blame…"_

_            "GET AWAY FROM MY LANTIS!" shouted the blue-haired pixie who seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere._

_***_

_            Lantis agreed to accompany Hikaru in finding the next Pillar outside the palace walls. They had just ran into some monsters, which they were able to slay. "They were much stronger than the ones in the past…" Hikaru told him and he nodded. They continued on their search until it started raining. They ran to the nearest shelter and decided to stay there until the rain stops. _

_            He looked at her, and noticed that Hikaru was still getting rained at. He held his robe, and raised his hand over her head, so that the fabric would cover her. "Thank you…" she murmured. He didn't answer her, instead, he just continued on staring at her._

_***_

_            "Why are you doing this, Eagle? Why do we have to fight? Haven't I told you that the Pillar System is a failure?" He said, blocking his friend's attack with his sword._

_            "I will be the next Pillar, Lantis. You cannot stop me!"_

_            "I will destroy the Pillar System. I will not let the same tragedy to happen again!"_

_            "I won't let you!"_

_            "Eagle, you are my friend, I would not want you to suffer as the past Pillar's had… Why aren't you listening to me?"_

_            "I do not care anymore! I am willing to take the consequences of my actions…I had made up my mind, Lantis."_

_***_

_            And suddenly he felt it…A sudden feeling of danger…"Hikaru!" he stood up and hurried to find her. "Wait for me Hikaru…"_

_            It wasn't long until he finally found her, lying on the floor. He raced to his side, and tried to help her up… "Gomen nasai…demo…suki…" he heard her say before she completely passed out. _

_***_

_            He saw her enter the gardens, and called out her name. "Hikaru…"_

_            "I'm sorry…did I disturb you?"_

_"Would you want to join me?" She hesitated at first, but she finally sat beside him. "Are you all right now? I was worried about you…"_

_"I'm fine now, you shouldn't be worrying about me."_

_He sighed and then took a pendant he was wearing hidden underneath his armor. He carefully laid it on her hands and clasped his hands over hers tightly. "My mother gave this to me. She told me to give it to someone who is worthy."_

_"But…I…"_

_"Keep it for me. It will protect you someday." _


	11. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

            Lantis opened his eyes, and stared at the white-painted ceiling above him---He blinked once, and rubbed his eyes---'This isn't my house! Where the bloody hell am I?' He quickly sat up from his futon and found Satoru Shidou sitting on the floor beside him. "I hope you don't mind about the futon…" Satoru told him. "Are you alright now?" 

Lantis nodded in response, remembering what had just happened, and asked, "How is she?"

"She's fine."

"No fever?"

"No. Thank you for bringing her back…Although I had never expected you'd both end up unconscious."

"It's a long story…" he replied, and looked down.

"We have enough time, don't you think so too, Magic Swordsman?"

Lantis shot up his head and met Satoru's gaze. "How did you---? Oh, she might have told you before…"

"She described you as 'the man that tames lightning', hers eyes sparkling as she mentioned your name…and yes, she had told me everything…we didn't bring up the subject again after that though…Neither did we tell anybody else about it."

"She have no memories left of Sefiro anymore…"

"You came here to make her remember then?"

"Yes, that was the original plan…I came here also to protect her since I sensed that some kind of danger was coming…but something…someone took my memories also…I just got them all back earlier."

"So what happened out there?"

"I saw her already unconscious…her energy almost drained up completely…A defective post was just ready to fall on her. Even if I knew I could reach her in time, I also knew it wouldn't be enough to get both of us out of the way…I used my magic to shield both of us out of desperation…and then teleported her back here. Usually it wouldn't really take too much energy to do that but…I guess it's much different here in your world. If I will have to use my greatest attack here it will probably kill me."

"So what happened after you lost your memories…were you adopted after you came here?"

"No actually, I was born here in Earth…"

"You mean you're originally from Earth?"

"No…The master mage cast a spell that had me being reborn here in Earth so that I wouldn't have any problems coping…and well of course so that I will end up at the same age as your sister. Everything had been 'arranged', in a way that would make it easier for me to be close with Hikaru so I can protect her…The process of my rebirth is something similar to reincarnation…the only difference is that I didn't have to die. The master mage warned me that there would be a minor fluke since there isn't really enough energy to support the spell…So I ended up being born in England, not in Tokyo. I was to keep my memories though…and I doubt that the reason why I lost them was again a mistake from the spell…Anyway, when I come back to Sefiro, I'll be looking like my old self again…"

"Yes, Hikaru told me we're almost of the same age…"

"Yes…something like that…At least I did look someone of the same age as you…Although of course, time is nothing to Sefiro…"

"Should I be calling you Lantis now then?"

"No…it's still Kyle…"

***

            "Did you see, Ares?"

            "Yes I did…and yes, you were right, his soul had bonded with hers. I told you, the third time would be a charm…"

            "So does that mean it's over?"

            "You know very well that it's not…"

            "If only we had seen earlier…they wouldn't have to go through this…"

            "How could we? We were sealed again when Emeraude died, and were only reawakened after the Chosen One demolished the Pillar System…The events that might have proven the swordsman's bond with her might have happened when we were asleep…"

            "Maybe we should had tried looking into their past before we cast the spell…"

            "Maybe…but we cannot alter what we had done…"

            "Why do they have to be different than the others? It would have been easier for all of us if it was otherwise!"

            "But they are different…there's nothing we can do about that."

***

            _She looked around her. It was dark…but there was light from a small opening on the wall in front of her. Underneath it was a girl crouched down, crying. Hikaru approached the girl and touched the girl's shoulder. She gasped in surprise when she saw the girl's face… "Y-you…" she stammered. The girl looked exactly like her; except that the color of the girl's hair is lighter…and that the girl has a pair of elfin-like ears. "What is your name?"_

_            "Nova…" the girl replied in between sobs._

_            "Why are you crying?"_

_            "…You promised you wouldn't leave me again…You promised me that we'd be together forever…" Nova said, hugging Hikaru._

_            "I'm sorry…"_

_            "It's alright…It wasn't really your fault…It's just that I had been waiting for you, but it was taking you too long to get me…"_

_            "I don't understand…"_

_            "I was so scared… I didn't want to be alone again…" Then Nova wiped her tears away and smiled. "But you're here now aren't you? We'll be together again…just like before…just like you told me."_

_            "What do you mean? Who are you?"_

_            "I am you, silly." Nova giggled. "You made me."_

_            "I made you?"_

_            "You don't want me to be alone again, do you?"_

_            "Well I…no…of course not!"_

_            "Good…But I cannot really come back to you right now…"_

_            "Why not?"_

_            "Because you don't remember me…but it's alright…you will soon…and when you do we'll be together again and we can go back to him!"_

_            "To whom?"_

_            "To the one we love!" Nova giggled again. She stood up and then walked away from the light and disappeared into the darkness that surrounded them. "Hi-ka-ru-chan…" she said, in a dangerously playful tone. "Let's play!"_

_            "Nova…wait! Where are you?"_

_            "Tell me Hikaru…would you die for the one you love?"_

_            "Nova…?"_

_            "Would you give up everything to be with him?"_

_            "What are you talking about, Nova? Where are you?"_

_            "We're playing Hikaru! Come on! It would be fun!"_

_            "But Nova…"_

_            "So tell me…would you really want to be with him?"_

_            "With who?"_

_            "Lantis of course! Now answer me…"_

_            "Y-yes…"_

_            "Good…that's what I want too…But you can't yet…Do you know what happened before you came here?"_

_            "I remember running away…and then…"_

_            "Then you fainted all of a sudden. Do you want to know why?"_

_            "Why?"_

_            "Because…your energy had been drained away…It's being drained since you forgot about…I mean…since we were separated. That is why you seem to be weaker now…physically and emotionally. Right now, your body is slowly dying…If you die, Lantis will be really sad again…Do you want to live Hikaru?"_

_            "Yes."_

_            "You will get hurt in the process though…You will feel pain that you'll wish you'll never have to feel again…Knowing how weak you are right now, are you sure you want to go through all of these?"_

_            "Yes."_

_            "Play with me, Hikaru."_

_***_


	12. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

            As if sensing a familiar danger, Satoru saw Lantis frown and stand up all of a sudden from the futon. "What happened Kyle-san?"

            "It's Hikaru…Take me to Hikaru…" Lantis said, as he shook Satoru by the shoulder. 

            "You shouldn't be too worried…She's resting. What harm can happen to her?"

            "Nova."

"But that cannot be…"

"Stay here then. I will go to her on my own."

Suddenly, Kakeru and Masaru barged into the room. "Satoru-niisama…It's Hikaru-chan…she…" Without waiting for Kakeru to finish his sentence, Lantis pushed him out of the way and ran towards Hikaru's room. "Hey!"

"Let's go…" Satoru told his brothers.

***

            _"I thought we are going to play, Hikaru-chan…" Nova said. _

_            "I don't know what we're going to do…"_

_            "Are you afraid of darkness Hikaru-chan?"_

_            "No…"_

_            "Come over here…"_

_            Hikaru hesitantly stepped into the darkness and then felt herself falling… "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Novaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Help me!!!"_

_She only heard Nova laugh and say, "Sorry Hikaru-chan. I told you it wouldn't be that easy. Ja ne!"_

_***_

_            Hikaru found herself floating inside something that looked like a transparent spaceship…at least that was what she thought. "Where…where am I?" _

_            "Magic Knight…" she heard someone say._

_            "Are you talking to me?"_

_            "Magic Knight…It's time to fulfill your destiny…"_

_            "My destiny? Magic Knight?" Images of two girls suddenly flashed in her mind… "Umi…Fuu…they are my friends…" More images of different people they had met … "Clef…Presea…Mokona…Ascot…Caldina,,.Lafarga" Memories of their journey came back to her. "Rayearth…I was able to summon Rayearth! We have to save Princess Emeraude!"_

***

            Lantis saw Hikaru's body vertically floating in mid-air, black and red aura surrounded her body, her eyes closed as if she's still in deep slumber. 'Just like when she was reforging her sword…'

            "What the…" he heard Satoru said from behind him.

            "Satoru-niisama…we don't know what happened…but she just suddenly rose up from her bed…" Masaru explained.

            "And then we ran to tell you…" Kakeru said. "We tried to put her down, but flames suddenly just came out of nowhere. Something is preventing us from touching her."

            Lantis willed his sword to appear on his hand, which shocked the younger Shidou siblings more. "NOVA! SHOW YOURSELF!"

            "Tsk-tsk-tsk…Keep your voice down will you? I can hear you perfectly…" They heard someone say. Nova's ghost-like figure appeared from Hikaru's body. 

            "What are you doing, Nova?"

            "I'm not doing anything! I'm helping Hikaru…"

            "Helping?"

            "I know…I know…I'm Hikaru's evil-self…blah blah blah…Never trust me…blah blah…"

            "Tell me what's going on…or I'll…"

            "You'll what? Kill me? Yeah right…You can never hurt me, Lantis. I am a part of Hikaru after all…Besides I was planning to tell you anyway…" Catching Lantis' glare, she said, "Okay! Okay! She's actually going through some kind of ordeal…"

            "What kind of ordeal?"

            "Geez, I'm on my way on telling you that! She has to pass a test to get her memories of you back…" 

"And if she fail?"

"She'll die…Bye-bye Nova and Hikaru…" Kakeru was about to protest but Nova wouldn't let him, "…Nothing you can do about it brother dear. But don't worry, she'll get through this…she almost did die lots of times already…She may be weaker now but well…that's not much of a problem. Hey, have faith in her…Oh and by the way Lantis, congratulations…"

"What are you congratulating the gaijin about?" Masaru asked.

"He passed his own ordeal by protecting Hikaru. Oh and well he got himself a new Mashin God. If Hikaru pass this one, she'll get another Mashin."

"Is this what it's all about? We didn't ask for new Mashins…"

"You have no choice…They are made for the Chosen One and his or her chosen life-mate. And you do know that before anybody can get their Mashins they have to pass the test made for them…of course if they fail, they die. But I know you haven't heard of that legend, Lantis. It was made before the Pillar System was created. The elemental Mashins were created just in case those other two Mashins were awakened."

"What the hell is she talking about, gaijin?" Kakeru asked.

"How did you know all this?" Lantis asked, still doubtful.

"Let's just say…I was chosen to help with judgment her alright? Hey, at least be grateful that I was nice enough to give half of her memories of Sefiro back, in my own twisted way of course…Anyway I gotta go back to work…Ja ne!"

***

            _Grateful that the fight was finally over, Hikaru gave a contented sigh. 'Finally, Zagato is dead…we can all go home now…' She winced as she suddenly felt the wounds she had acquired from the recent battle though. Her cuts were deep, and blood was actually flowing from her wounds. _

_"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" The Magic Knights heard a feminine voice scream from the castle in front of them. They approached the palace, and saw a woman with long blond hair, crying. _

_            "Who are you?"_

_            "My name is Emeraude…"_

_            "Princess Emeraude…You are safe now. Zagato is dead…"_

_            "YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KILLED MY BELOVED ZAGATO! YOU WILL PAY!!!"_

_            "But we thought…"_

_            "YOU KNOW NOTHING!!! PREPARE TO DIE!!!" Taking the lance that Zagato's Mashin once used as a weapon, Emeraude's white Mashin attacked the Magic Knights with full force. "YOU KILLED MY LOVE! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!!"_

_            "What is happening?" Hikaru heard Umi ask._

_            "I don't know…"            _

***

            "I still cannot believe that our sister had gone all through those things," Kakeru said, after Satoru had told them about their sister's adventures in Sefiro and how Lantis followed Hikaru after she lost her memories. "No wonder she was really depressed before…"

            "I admire her for staying strong after what had happened," Masaru said. "And I'm sorry about how I acted, Kyle-san."

            "Me, too…I'm sorry…" Kakeru said. "You have saved our sister's life a lot of times already…I thank you for that."

"It was alright…" Lantis answered them.

"So what do we do now?"

"There is really nothing we can do…but pray she gets through this."

Suddenly, they heard Hikaru let out a sorrowful moan. "No…cannot kill…must save Princess Emeraude…no…" It was only then that the men noticed that Hikaru's body had suddenly become severely wounded---her own blood trickling on her bed sheets.

***

            _Hikaru was back in the room where she had met Nova, very exhausted and hurting all over. She heard Nova giggling nearby. "She died because of love…And I killed her…" Hikaru said, crying._

_            "So it was your sword that stabbed her…she asked for it."_

_            "I killed her and Zagato…I am a murderer…"_

_            "Go on and hate yourself for it…it wouldn't change anything. Emeraude is dead…and so is Zagato. They knew that their love is doomed at the first place."_

_            "You don't understand!"_

            "Your self-hate and guilt from what had happened created me Hikaru-chan…Of course I understand…Our game isn't finished yet Hikaru…You promised you'd play with me…I told you you'll feel pain…But it's too late to stop now…Come Hikaru-chan…Play with me more…"

_            "No more…"_

_            "No more eh? Let's see if this would change your mind…"_

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Cliffhanger!!!! Hehehehe…What would make Hikaru change her mind? Oh btw…thanks fer the reviews peeps…


	13. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

            Lantis knew exactly how much Hikaru was hurting. To relive that dark memory of Emeraude and Zagato's death would be too much for her to bear. The emotional pain she was feeling is far more worse than the physical pain she had been experiencing at this time. He wanted to hold her hand and at least give her comfort through that…but black and red flame appeared each time he tried to, as if warning him that he must not interfere. 

Never had he ever felt as helpless as he does now. He could feel her slowly slipping away. He balled his fist tightly as he felt his knees gave away, making him kneel in front of the suffering Hikaru. "I'm sorry…I am so sorry…" he heard her whimper. 

"Damn you Nova." He wanted to help her…he wanted to share her pain…He knew that he could enter her subconscious mind, but he would need a physical link. 'But how can I do that if I couldn't even touch her?'

"Kyle-kun…what is that?" Kakeru asked, pointing at the glowing object underneath Lantis' shirt. 

Before he could even answer, the pendant he was wearing suddenly appeared on Hikaru's neck. "That is…" 

"I've never seen her wear that for months…" Satoru said. "Hikaru told me you gave it to her."

"Yes…it was my mother's. Somehow when Hikaru lost her memories it came back to me." The pendant emitted a beam of light towards Lantis as if linking Hikaru to him. That was all he needed. "I am going to enter her mind. It would take a lot of energy and I might pass out again but do not worry about me. I cannot do much in there since it is her ordeal, but I can guide her at least…I will do everything in my power to bring her back." 

"How can we ever thank you?" Masaru said.

"Don't thank me…at least not yet. There is still a big possibility that I might fail. She might die still…if that happens I will die with her…"

"We believe in you, Kyle-san," Satoru told him as he put his hand on Lantis' shoulder. "Do what you must." Lantis nodded and closed his eyes. 'Wait for me Hikaru…'

***

            _Hikaru gasped when Nova, along with a man in black armor appeared on the lighted area of the room. "Does he look familiar Hikaru-chan?"_

_            "He…he's the man in my dreams…"_

_            Nova giggled, touching the man's lips. "Do you know who he is?"_

_            She looked at the man, who was staring blankly ahead as if he was in a deep trance. "What did you do to him?"_

_            Nova laughed, bringing the man in a tight embrace. "Nothing much really…Tell me Hikaru-chan, do you want to know who he is?"_

_            "I…"_

_            "He is the one and only Magic Swordsman of Sefiro." Nova then turned to the man beside her. "What do you think about the Magic Knights?"_

_            "They killed my brother," the man answered. _

_            "No…"_

_            "Oh sorry Hikaru-chan…I forgot to tell you, he is Zagato's younger brother. Hey, don't feel bad…"_

_            "What are you talking about? You heard him! I killed his brother!" She ran towards the man and knelt in front of him. "Please sir…do what you want to do to me. Hurt me if you must…I am sorry for what I have done…"_

_            "Tsk-tsk-tsk…Hikaru-chan…you're sounding so pathetic now…It makes me sick…But then of course, that was what you told him before too…Am I right, Magic Swordsman?"_

_            "Yes. I told her they were just doing their duty."_

_            "See Hikaru-chan, it wasn't really that bad…Tell me Magic Swordsman…What do you think about…Hikaru Shidou…"_

_            "I hate her…" Deep inside Hikaru felt her heart break into little pieces. She never knew this man, but his words cut through her like a knife. It hurt her deeply. _

_            "Ouch, didn't expect that…Want to tell us why you hate her?"_

_            "She took everything away from me…I came back to Sefiro to destroy the Pillar System…but she took the chance away from me. She messed up my mind…took my heart away from my purpose…She made me weak…Because of her I was not able to avenge the death of my brother! Not only that she ended up destroying what I had vowed to destroy…but she also made me fall for her…made me believe that she loved me too…made me believe that we will be together forever. She made me believe in her lies! How easy for her to leave me alone and forget about me! She, who promised to be with me for eternity, left me without anything else to live for!"_

_            "I didn't know…I'm sorry…I didn't know…" Hikaru felt herself weaken more. _

_            "I protected her…loved her with all my heart…And what did I get? Nothing! She left Sefiro and did not return! She never cared for me…"_

_            "I'm sorry…I am so sorry…" Hikaru cried. She knew that she had truly loved this man, even if she does not remember him. _

_            "Poor, poor you…Hikaru-chan, how could you do this to him?"_

_            "I don't know…I can't remember…I'm sorry…"_

_            "Why are you crying? He doesn't mean anything to you! You don't love him…You don't even know his name! Don't cry Hikaru-chan…Let's ask him what he wants ne? Would that make you happy? I know it would…Magic Swordsman…what do you desire?"_

_            "I want to end my suffering. The only way it could happen is when I'm dead."_

_            "NO! DON'T!"_

_            "Why not Hikaru-chan? This would make him happy, ne? He won't have to hurt anymore…He is just confusing you. You do not care about this man…He was a man of your past…What matters now is the present and future…To live in happiness with Lantis…What happens to him does not concern you."_

_            "NO! NOVA!"_

_            Hikaru watched helplessly as Nova kissed the man's lips. "Your wish is my command…Magic Swordsman…" _

_            "Nova…Please don't! I'll do anything…just…don't…"_

_            "Are you telling me that you want to spare his miserable life?"_

_            "Yes."_

_            "Why?"_

_            "Because…I loved him…even if I don't remember it now…I know…I…I don't want him to die…"_

_            "What about Lantis then?"_

_            "I don't know…I just…Please…don't let him die…"_

_            "Will you play with me then Hikaru-chan?"_

_            "I will play with you Nova…"_

_            The view around her suddenly changed. She found herself standing on a cliff overlooking an arid wasteland. In front of her was a huge red Mashin. "Like my toy? It's almost the same as your Rayearth. Meet Regalia," the voice of Nova said coming from inside the Mashin. "It's just a simple game you see…Look here…" Hikaru's eyes widened when she saw the unconscious magic swordsman trapped inside Nova's Mashin. "All you have to do…is wake him up…Sounds easy right? Now how to wake him up would be your problem." Nova let out a loud laugh. _

_            "Nova! Why do you have to do this?" Hikaru shouted. She raised her sword and called out loud, "RAYEARTH!" Once inside her Mashin, she started charging at Nova. _

_            "Do you want to see a nice trick Hikaru-chan? I'll show you one…SANDASU!!!" _

_            Hikaru felt a big bolt of electricity fell on her from the sky. "What the---"_

_            Nova giggled… "It's his magic you know. Now that he is in Regalia's body I can control lightning too. Quite useful I might say…Come on Hikaru, you won't die just because of that."_

_            Hikaru stood up. 'Hikaru…can you hear me Hikaru?' _

_            'What the…Who?'_

_            'The pendant…do you have the pendant?' It was only then that she noticed that she is now wearing the similar pendant that the man in her dreams gave her. It was glowing brightly. 'Hikaru-chan?'_

_            'Is that you, Lantis?'_

_            'I can speak to you through this pendant.'_

_            'How did you---?'_

_            'I gave you that pendant Hikaru-chan.'_

_            'But he…that man…You mean…that is…you?"_

_'Yes, that was me…'_

_'I'm so sorry, Lantis…I left you all alone…I didn't know…'_

_            'It's alright Hikaru-chan…I never really blamed you for anything. I know you loved me with all your heart…Is it not enough proof that even if we both lost our memories, we both ended up falling in love with each other again?'_

_            'But you said…'_

_'That wasn't me…That was an illusion. Unfortunately, when I arrived here I found myself trapped in that body that Nova made. Maybe it was because it looked exactly how I was before. You have to wake my body up Hikaru-chan…'_

_'But…how?'_

_'Look inside your heart and you'll know the answer. I'm beginning to loose energy Hikaru-chan…Just remember, I believe in you.'_

_"What are you standing there for? I thought we are going to play…" Hikaru heard Nova say, in a voice oozing with mischief. "Oh well…I'll make you play then!" Hikaru nearly ended up with another fatal wound if she hasn't been able to react sooner. Thankfully, she was able to block Nova's attack with her sword. Nova grinned. "Now that was really nice Hikaru-chan. I am so glad I can play with you again...SANDASU!!!" Again, Hikaru received a huge blow from the lightning attack that Nova stole from Lantis, bringing her to her knees. "I told you it is very useful."_

_'He told me to look inside my heart…He was right…Even if I had forgotten our memories together I still love him…' A scene from her dream suddenly flashed in her mind. 'It was the same situation as this. The voice…the voice told me to call out his name.' Hikaru stood up, and then hit her sword on the ground. She felt her strength slowly come back in her body._

_"What are you doing?"_

_"LANTISSSSSS!!!" Hikaru shouted out, ignoring Nova's question. "LAANNTTTTIISSSSSS!!!"_

_"You…"_

_"LAAAAAAAAAAAANTISSSSSSSSSSS!!!"_

_"SANDASU!!!" Both girls heard Lantis shout out loud, summoning another lightning strike…but this time, it was aimed at Nova's Mashin. The impact was stronger than Nova's previous attacks, setting her Mashin on fire. Hikaru, still inside Rayearth, hurriedly pulled Lantis out of Regalia and then placed him on the ground below. She then released Rayearth and then ran to Lantis' side._

_"Are you alright?" she asked him._

_"Yes."_

_They both saw Regalia disappear from their sight, leaving the wounded Nova standing in front of them. "You won…As I had expected you would," Nova told her. "I am so glad…I am also sorry for all the trouble I had caused. Please understand, since you lost your memories of Sefiro I ended up separated with you again…It was really hard for me, but I had to do it. I knew that your love for each other is strong, therefore, I agreed to become an instrument to prove this love." She then turned to Lantis, "I knew you'd find a way to be with her… Now I only have one more thing to do…and that is lead you to your new Mashins."_

_"You mean? This is a test to see if we are worthy to own these new Mashins?" Hikaru asked her._

_"Did you think we can trust you again after all you had done?" Lantis angrily said to Nova. Hikaru took Lantis' hand though, motioning him to stop getting angry at her other self._

_"I feel no malice in her Lantis-kun. You can trust her…"_

_"I will now bring you to them," Nova said._

_***_

AUTHOR'S NOTE: A few more chappies and am done!!! Yey…Hmm…Am thinking of another plot fer me new fanfic…Hmmm…anyway…Til the next chappie! Buh-bye!!!


	14. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

They found themselves surrounded by darkness. "We are in Sefiro at the same time not in Sefiro---The realm of the Mashin Gods," Nova told them. 

"I think I know this place…" Hikaru said. "I think this is another dimension where the Mashin Gods live."

            "How did you know?" Lantis asked her.

            "Rayearth brought me here before…I'm starting to get my memories back…" Hikaru explained.

            "You will have all of them back when we merge together again, Hikaru-chan," Nova said, smiling. "I think it is time to do that." 

            "Come back to me now, Nova…" Hikaru said, her arms wide open to receive Nova once more. Nova flew into Hikaru's arms and disappeared inside her body. This time, all that is left of her forgotten memories flashed in her mind---starting from her second journey to Sefiro until the day Lantis finally asked her to be his life-mate. That day was also the last time she came back to Sefiro… "Lantis…I remember everything…"

            "Welcome to our realm Magic Knight…Magic Swordsman…" someone said behind them. Both turned around to and saw two Mashins…the same Mashins that Emeraude and Zagato used when they fought with the Magic Knights.

            "You---!!!" Hikaru exclaimed, raising her sword as if getting ready for another battle. 

            "Do not fret, Chosen One, we will not battle this time, nor will we in the future," the black Mashin told them. "From this moment on, both of you are our new masters. I am Ares, and the white Mashin is Aphrodite."

            "We both apologize for all the troubles we had caused…" the white Mashin said. "…but you see, it was necessary to prove that your love for each other are strong enough and that you are both worthy to be guardians of Sefiro."

            "You mean, the memory loss is your doing?" Lantis asked. 

            "Well, not directly of course. We had to cast the Spell of Ephemeral Tribulation and it was the one responsible in creating conflicts in your relationship. In this case, it chose to trigger memory loss and energy loss," Aphrodite explained. 

            "You had broken the spell therefore, had proven yourselves worthy."

            "You say that we were to be the guardians of Sefiro, but isn't that the job of the Magic Knights?" Lantis asked.

            "It is the duty of the Chosen One. The Legend of the Magic Knights was created only upon the establishment of the Pillar System. Before that, Sefiro has a system much similar to what you have now, and the one you all call the "Pillar" was actually what fate had chosen to be Sefiro's guardian."

            "Sefiro is a vessel of infinite power. The only one who can harness this power is the Chosen One. He or she will have to guard this power from evil beings and at the same time use it for the benefit of the people of Sefiro and it's neighboring planets if necessary. When the Chosen One takes a life-mate, this responsibility is to be shared and the couple undergoes a test similar to what you had underwent to ensure that Sefiro's power stays in good hands."

            "We are the Mashins created for the Chosen One and the Chosen One's life-mate. Our duty is to aid and protect them if summoned," Ares said.

            "You mean, Zagato was already Emeraude's life-mate?" Hikaru asked.

            "Yes, before the final battle they had the opportunity to express their true feelings for each other. The Pillar System had already tested their love, and was no time for us to cast the Spell of Ephemeral Tribulation. They both knew that they will end up dying, but Zagato's will to protect Emeraude was so strong that Ares allowed himself to be used in the final battle. You were supposed to fight against me only," Aphrodite answered. "We knew it was their destiny to die together. Their case was different from what we had experienced."

            "Your case was different also in a way that you are the first Chosen One from a place other than Sefiro," Ares told Hikaru. "You live in two worlds, and you are not bound to Sefiro as much as its citizen would be. You have the strongest will amongst the others also because you take your strength not only from yourself but also from the people that surrounds you. You admit to yourself that despite of your exceptionally strong will, you are not perfect, nor required to be. The spell that we cast on you has a way of probing inside your heart. It looks for your strongest point and takes it away from you."

            "That is why, the spell chose to take away both of your memories. You are each other's strength as well as your memories of Sefiro are. The Chosen One's exceptionally high energy helps her to overcome all of the hardships that come in her way; it also gives her a more positive outlook on everything. The spell realized that, so it chose to slowly drain her of it, making her weak emotionally and physically and also less focused. The Magic Swordsman's exceptional skills in both magic and swordsmanship make him strong, and by taking away his memories, these characteristics are taken away from him also."

            "But how come he was able to regain his memories before I have?"

            "His will to protect you is very strong that it forcefully broke the spell. Do not think that it was because you love him less than he loves you. His test was to protect you at all times and at the same time, stay alive in the process. Without his magic and his swordsmanship skills, the task had been very difficult for him indeed. He had regained his memories out of desperation actually," Ares answered her.

            "While your test was to regain a part of yourself that you had thought you would never loose again…"

            "Nova…"

            "Yes, and to be able to do that you have to go through things that you didn't want to go through again…some of it are Emeraude and Zagato's death, and the time when the one you love most is in the brink of death while you stood there feeling helpless."

            "I understand now…"Hikaru said. "So this means it's all over now…"

            "Yes, you can live your lives as you choose," Aphrodite told them. "But before you leave I would like to ask you to summon the elemental Mashin God Rayearth."

            "Summon Rayearth?" Lantis asked.

            "Now that you are now my mistress, I would have to merge with your Mashin, Chosen One…" Aphrodite explained to them.

            "Please call me Hikaru…"

            "Very well then, Mistress Hikaru."

            Hikaru raised her sword up and then summoned her Mashin God. "RAYEARTH!" The red Mashin God appeared before them.

            "Magic Knight…" Rayearth said.

            "Rayearth, these are Ares and Aphrodite…"

            "I have heard of them. They are the Ancient Ones…The Mashins created long before us…"

            "Indeed that we are…I will now merge with you Rayearth…that is until the Chosen One lives…Are you willing to take my female form Rayearth?"

            "Yes, Ancient One…It would be an honor to merge with you." And with that, Rayearth and Aphrodite shifted into their true form: Rayearth a flaming wolf and Aphrodite a tall and beautiful woman with golden hair and blue eyes. Aphrodite reached out her hand towards Rayearth and a sudden flash of blinding light came into view. When it was finished, a new Mashin stood in front of them. It had a female form like Aphrodite, only this Mashin had a red body instead of white.

            "What name will I call out when I summon you then?" Hikaru asked the red Mashin.

            "Reina."

            "It is a beautiful name…"

            "Thank you Mistress Hikaru."

            "Our job for now is done. Magic Swordsman…you can summon me by my name. It is Ares."

            "Yes Ares. Please call me Lantis from now on."

            "We will now bring you back to Earth, Lord Lantis. From now on, both of you can also practice your magic in that world if you choose, it would not take too much energy from you anymore, Sefiro will provide all the energy you will need."

***

            "Satoru-niisama, where have they gone to? Did you think they…?" Kakeru finally asked his older brother after they saw Hikaru and Lantis' bodies disappeared from their sight almost minutes before. "Satoru-niisama?"

            "I remember that Nova-girl talking about Hikaru 'disappearing' if she fails…" Masaru said.

            "I do not think she meant it literally," Satoru told his brothers. "I feel both of them are safe…I have full faith on your sister, and Lantis promised us that he would try his best to bring her back. Maybe they are already in Sefiro at this mo---" Satoru was cut off when Hikaru and Lantis suddenly appeared in front of them.

            "Hikaru-chan! Our _kawaiiiiiiiii imouto_ is back!!!" Kakeru cried out, trapping Hikaru into a tight hug. 

            "Hikaru-chan! We were soooo worried about you…Where did you go?" Masaru also hugged his sister tight as expected. As soon as they saw Hikaru turning blue, they finally let go of her. 

"I guess Nova had teleported our true bodies in there huh?" Hikaru told Lantis. "I wonder why you were in your old form over there? You look like an 18 year old guy again."

            "This is my 'earthly form' so to speak. I get my original body back when I am not on Earth," Lantis replied.

            "We're sorry for what had happened, Hikaru-chan…" Kakeru started to say.

            "And we apologized to the _gaijin_ also. We know about Sefiro too…Satoru-niisama told us about it," Masaru seconded. 

            "Hey…where did all your wounds go?"

            "Wounds?" Hikaru asked.

            "You had been bleeding to death while you were asleep. When you were reliving your past battles in your subconscious mind, your body seemed to had been taking physical manifestations of your wounds."

            "Here let me show you your bed covers…" Masaru said. "Ehhhh??? Nothing? But…"

            "We shouldn't bother about it now. The most important thing is that our sister is safe," Satoru said. He then turned to Lantis, "It is already late, will you be staying over for the night?"

            "No…I have to return to Sefiro and tell Clef about this."

            "Why not go with me there tomorrow?" Hikaru asked.

            "I am sorry Hikaru…but I had promised Clef that once I figure out what was happening I would tell him about it right away. We'll see each other tomorrow. You'll be coming back to Sefiro tomorrow right?"

            "Yes…"

            "I really have to go now…"

            "Okay…see you tomorrow then…"

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yey…sorry if I took too long to update. I had some kind of a writer's block…I mean I know how the plot would go I just dunno how to start the scene and all…Hehehehe…me a baka…Til next chappie…Ja ne!

Oh btw…someone asked me wot _gaijin _means…

_Gaijin=_ foreigner


	15. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

            Lantis took a deep breath after leaving the mail hall. It was only then that exhaustion from the day's events took over his body. He could feel his head pounding too, deepening his usual passive facial expression into a scowl. He then proceeded to walk towards his old room in the palace, looking forward to the comfort of his bed. 

            His talk with the master mage added to the stress he had experienced that day. Explaining never was his forte, and the fact that he had to report everything, including what the new Mashins told him was too much for him. So when Clef asked him about his plans now that the ordeal was over, he chose not to answer---not that he would tell anyway.  

            Despite the fact that he was very much used to leaving his old world for long periods of time, he must admit, he always did miss Sefiro. It had always a place in his heart, wherever he might be. No wonder in his childhood days on his life as Kyle, he had always been seen playing in the woods near his family manor. He suddenly remembered Jean---'The poor man must be worried sick about me,' he thought to himself. The knew that the spell that the master mage had cast was irreversible…meaning that he will always have his other life in Earth, whether he had completed his duty or not. 

            He shook his head, cursing silently at the headache he had been having. He opened the door to his room and went inside. He was tired, so he might as well sleep. But before he did, he decided to do something else first…

***

            Hikaru hurriedly went to the kitchen and found Satoru already finished cooking breakfast. "You are going to Sefiro today, aren't you?" he asked her. 

            "Yes, I am…after school," Hikaru said, smiling.

"Will you go with Kyle-kun today?" 

"No I will be meeting him in Sefiro…" Hikaru then frowned, realizing that Lantis would not be her classmate anymore since he had already returned to Sefiro. 

            Satoru noticed the sudden change in his sister's mood. "Hikaru-chan? Is there something wrong?"

            "Uh…no! No! It's nothing…"

            "Don't worry Hikaru-chan, you are going to see him when you go to Sefiro later today. Besides, he can visit you here also if he wants to right?" Hikaru heard her brother say, as if he just read her mind. Hikaru nodded. Deep inside, she was still very disappointed. She always loved being with Lantis---loved it too much actually, that when he asked her if she could be his life-mate several months ago, she never had a second thought in saying 'yes'. 

            "Ne, onii-sama…"

            "Yes Hikaru?"

            Hikaru took a deep breath before she continued. The thing that she was going to say isn't really easy, even if she thinks that her eldest brother would understand. She never did like keeping secrets from Satoru though. "The day I lost my memory…The last time I went to Sefiro that is…"

            "Yes?"

            "Lantis…he…He asked me if I can be his life-mate…"

            "You mean he asked you to marry him?"

            "Yes…in a way…something like that…"

            "And you said 'yes'?"

            "Uh…yeah…I mean, we agreed not to proceed with the actual ceremony until I'm old enough…I mean over here…because of course, in Sefiro you can just will your own age you know…but I mean…you know…when I'm finished with my studies…Of course, he have to meet Mom and Dad first…" Hikaru babbled on. "I mean of course now he can't meet them yet because they're on a trip and all…But anyway…it won't be until much later and…"

            "Hikaru…you have my blessings…"

            "…And if you want we can get married here and then in Sefiro also…Or if you want I can all bring you to…What did you say?"

            "I approve of him as a brother-in-law."

            "Really?"

            "Yes…I mean, I must admit that I do think you are too young, but since he is willing to wait for a couple of years I wouldn't have to worry…I know that you have a bright future with him, whether you choose to live here or Sefiro. I suggest we don't tell your other brothers about it yet. They had just been getting used to the idea that you have a boyfriend actually."

"Thanks onii-sama." It wasn't long until she was again smothered by her other brothers. It was only when Satoru cleared his throat that Masaru and Kakeru finally let go of Hikaru and sat on their usual seats.

***

            Hikaru said goodbye to Satoru and then left for school. Her two brothers had already gone to the university earlier, which was the first. She usually was the first one to leave the house. She didn't run on her way there as usual, instead, she walked slowly. She wasn't really excited reaching school early---the truth is she didn't want to go to school at all…but of course, she never was the type to cut classes---and she wouldn't start to now. She figured she'd just have to wait later to see Lantis again. 

            Soon she will visit Sefiro once more…she will also get to see Umi and Fuu again. Fuu had been busy preparing for the university entrance exams, while Umi now lives in America as an exchange student. They only get to see each other in Sefiro, where time isn't really significant, and since Hikaru's memory had been lost, she hadn't been able to will her friends to the other world. 

            She took a deep breath before opening the door to their classroom. Deep inside, she was half-wishing that she'd see Lantis sitting on the seat behind her own. Her friends greeted her and she greeted them back with less enthusiasm as usual. "Ne, Hikaru-chan…class will be starting soon and Kyle-kun still isn't here…" Chiharu told her.

            "It isn't him to be late for class, right Hikaru-chan?"

            Hikaru simply nodded in response, refraining herself to tell her friends that they might not be seeing Kyle any longer. She remembered her private conversation with Lantis the night before.

----@----

_            Hikaru followed Lantis after he went out of the door. "Lantis…wait!"_

_            "Yes?"_

_            "Anou…I was wondering…how were you able to come here? I mean, I'm the only one who can send you here right?"_

_            "Clef cast a spell that transfers my soul and whole being to be reborn here in Earth. In that way I can fulfill my duty with ease."_

_            "So now that your duty is done…there is no reason for you to stay here any longer, right?" Hikaru asked, wishing that Lantis would disagree with her statement._

_            "You might say that…"_

_            "I see…" Hikaru said, very disappointed._

_            "Don't be sad Hikaru, you sound as if we won't be seeing each other again…I have to leave now Hikaru…and you also have to sleep."_

_            "One more question…"_

_            "Yes?"_

_            "So what do you plan to do now?"_

_            "I plan to choose the life I want to keep and to stay to the place where I belong."_

_"And that is?"_

_"To the place where my duty lies as a protector, Hikaru…"_

---@---

            'Where else that place would be but Sefiro?' Hikaru told herself. 

            "Hikaru-chan! Hikaru-chan!" Keiko said, waving her hand in front of Hikaru's face.

            "Oh sorry…" she murmured.

            At last, Kobayashi-sensei entered the room. After the class did their usual greeting to their teacher, Lantis entered their room, handing a letter to their teacher. Hikaru seemed to have been frozen on her seat out of surprise.

            Kobayashi-sensei opened the letter, and then said, "If that's the case then McKnight-san, you may now take your seat."

***

            "Ready to go?" Lantis asked Hikaru as soon as the school bell rang. Hikaru nodded and then walked out of the room with Lantis, carrying her lunchbox. "You looked like you saw a ghost earlier, Hikaru-chan."

            "I thought you left Earth for good…"

            "I told you I'd see you today didn't I?"

            "But I thought you meant you'll see me when I go to Sefiro…"

            "Was that the reason why you looked so sad last night?"

            "Well it's not my fault that I misunderstood what you had said. You were so much in a hurry to leave…and when I asked you about your plans, you told me that you'll choose to stay to the place where your duty as a protector lies…So what do you expect?"

            "I'm sorry, Hikaru-chan…I admit I was too much in a hurry to explain my answer last night, but I needed to talk to Clef right away. I had been very rude to him as Kyle when he was constantly reminding him my duty in my dreams and I would want to at least make up for that."

            "…And you were late this morning, too…So I really thought that you won't be coming to school anymore…"

            "I actually went to school early, but I met the principal at the entrance and he asked me to go to his office. It turned out that he wanted me to represent our school in some contest…I turned him down and told him I already have many things to do…It took time to convince him though…"

            "So the letter you gave Kobayashi-sensei was from the principal?"

            "Yes…" They then reached their usual eating-place. After they stopped walking, Lantis then took Hikaru's hands. "Hikaru-chan, " he started to say, "I told you I would choose to live to a place where I belong---That place is by your side. And as for my duty to protect…As a Magic Swordsman, it is my duty to protect the Pillar, which is you…As Sefiro's guardian it is my duty to guard and protect the vessel of Sefiro's power, I share that obligation with you…And most importantly, my duty as your chosen life-mate, I am bound to the duty to protect the woman I love…and that is you. Do you understand now?"

            Touched by what Lantis said, Hikaru felt her eyes start to water. "Yes…yes I do understand."

            "My duty has not ended…nor will it ever end. And from now on, do not forget that whichever life you choose…whether you choose to stay in Sefiro later on…or stay here, or choose to live both lives as we do now…I will be with you…" Wiping the tears flowing on Hikaru's face with his hands, he continued, "Never again will we part from each other." He then wrapped his arms around Hikaru, trapping her into a warm embrace.

            "Never again…" he heard her whisper.  

---------------

OWARI

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AUTHOR'S NOTES: YEYYYYYY!!! This is the last chappie, folks! I hope ya liked me story!!! Anyway…until next fic! Arigatou, minna…


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